Tuesday, 22 June 2021 09:55

Praise for dairy

Written by  Staff Reporters
Director-general of the Ministry of Primary Industries Ray Smith. Director-general of the Ministry of Primary Industries Ray Smith.

The director-general of MPI has praised the dairy industry saying its performance in the past year has been tremendous.

Speaking to Dairy News from the Fieldays, Ray Smith noted the sector produced more milk per cow than it did previously and that was outstanding given that livestock numbers are down.

"Dairy has come through this amazingly well and you will see that growth continuing," he says.

Smith says the past 18 months have been challenging and stressful for everyone involved in the primary sector - both in government agencies and the private sector.

He says Covid has thrown up a whole new set of challenges especially around labour and logistics.

His main observation at Fieldays was that people were happy to get away from their day to day business and there was a good vibe amongst farmers and sector leaders.

"We gave a presentation on our programme - Fit for a Better World - and this was well attended and people came away happy that we as a sector had a plan to lift growth, sustainability and attract more NZers to work in the primary sector. Everyone was positive about the fact that we were working to lift all sectors and not trade anyone down," he says.

Smith says people realised that in these difficult times they were not alone.

More like this

Editorial: Outstanding Performance

OPINION: The latest update from the Ministry for Primary Industries (MPI) on the state of NZ's primary sector paints a positive picturee about its performance over the past 12 months.

Featured

NZ Farm Accident Claims Drop Nearly 35% Since 2020

A huge reduction in ACC claims from on-farm accidents over the last five years is due to thousands of small, practical decisions being made in sheds, yards, paddocks and around kitchen tables across the country, says Safer Farms ambassador Lindy Nelson.

Inside the Moxhams' Award-Winning Organic Dairy Farm

Wayne and Ange Moxham of Horowhenua have just been named as Fonterra's top organic performer for milksolids. As well as providing organic milk to Fonterra, the couple also sell Udderly Organic milk to more than 100 outlets in the region and are embarking on another exciting venture producing organic gelato. Reporter Peter Burke went along to see their farming operation.

National

Machinery & Products

» Latest Print Issues Online

Milking It

Political Points

OPINION: Staying on Plan Change 1, NZ First deputy leader Shane Jones took to social media to gain some political…

PC1 Dilemma

OPINION: All eyes are on the Government as Waikato farmers seek urgent help to fend off the controversial Plan Change…

» Connect with Dairy News

» eNewsletter

Subscribe to our weekly newsletter