New Dairy Holdings CEO Backs Self-Contained Model
Running a tight and self-contained ship is the key to the success of the country's largest dairy farmer, says Blair Robinson, the new man at the helm of Dairy Holdings.
Mycoplasma bovis can spread from cattle to other farm animals, says an expert.
Retired Lincoln University professor Keith Woodford told the Federated Farmers dairy conference in Wellington that M. bovis isn't just a risk for New Zealand cattle.
He says in a case documented in Austria M. bovis jumped from a cattle herd into pigs and in the following years found its way into a dairy herd grazing in an alpine region.
A lesson learned from the M. bovis outbreak was NZ’s lack of awareness: MPI had no programme in place to deal with it.
Woodford says the MPI executive in charge of the response team “had to go and google it to see what M. bovis was all about”.
“Everyone has been caught out including the veterinary profession.”
Farms across the upper North Island are trialling different pasture mixes as part of a research programme that aims to build greater resilience into farming systems.
Election years are always a concerning time for farmers, according to DairyNZ chair Tracy Brown.
The Ballance Farm Environment Awards are coming to the West Coast of the South Island.
Most dairy regions around the country have had a pretty good season so far says Tracy Brown.
Rural leader Mark Hooper has been appointed as an independent director to the NZPork board, bringing extensive farming, governance and advocacy experience to the role.
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.