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Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern and Agriculture Minister Damien O’Connor.
The Government has acknowledged that all was not right in MPI’s handling of the M. bovis crisis.
Last week Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern admitted things could have been done better.
She and Agriculture Minister Damien O’Connor unveiled new initiatives designed to make it easier for farmers to claim compensation and to give them more support.
These include an online tool to calculate milk production losses, a simpler form to lodge a compensation claim and the funding of a DairyNZ/Beef + LambNZ compensation assistance team to help farmers with their claims.
Of NZ’s 24,000 farms, 74 have been infected with M. bovis and 36 destocked and cleared of the disease.
Ardern says the new initiatives will help farmers and their families hit by the disease to move on and get back in business.
Eradicating the disease is still a priority.
Testing confirms H5 bird flu in a single northern giant petrel, found dead on a remote Cape Palliser beach in the Wairarapa, says Dr Mary van Andel, the Ministry for Primary Industries' (MPI) Chief Veterinary Officer.
The apple sector is working with the Government to unlock access to two key markets that could bring millions in revenue for apple growers.
A Palmerston North shearer has been sentenced to six months' community detention and 12 months' supervision after being found to have physically abused three lambs while shearing them.
OPINION: A simpler, clearer, more effective Recognised Seasonal Employer (RSE) scheme.
The country's second largest milk processor is warning against 'complacency' during a review of competition regulations in the dairy sector.
Fonterra Co-operative Group chief financial officer Andrew Murray has resigned to take up a role outside the dairy giant.
A major move is about to get underway to improve the quality and viability of dairy beef and cattle in NZ.
Veterinarians say changes to the code of welfare for dairy cattle provides a positive foundation for improved cattle welfare across the country.
Today, 15 October, is the International Day of Rural Women, which recognises rural women’s contribution to farming, communities and the environment.
Global dairy giant Lactalis has integrated its Australian operations with the Mainland Dairy consumer business it acquired from Fonterra earlier this year.
High country stations, mixed sheep and beef farms, Māori-owned farms, corporates and family operations are among the nine commercial farms taking part in the Livestock Innovation Farming Transformation programme, known as LIFT.
OPINION: It seems Canterbury processor Synlait is still in the doldrums.
OPINION: Get offside with New Zealand First leader Winston Peters at your own peril.
