Ospri Urges Farmers To Prepare NAIT Records Before Moving Day
Moving Day (June 1) is just around the corner and farmers who are moving farms with the herd are being urged by Ospri to start preparations now.
Changes proposed to the TB Plan by a review group are said to have gained the support of most submitters.
Plan governance group chairman Chris Kelly says it proposes that the TB Plan should focus on eradicating bovine tuberculosis from farmed cattle and deer within about ten years.
"It will take longer to clear TB from possums and other vectors in remote back country, but it is important that our farming sector be rid of this serious disease as fast as possible," he says.
The group's final proposal for changes was given to the Minister for Primary Industries Nathan Guy this month. The changes are intended to advance the progress made by OSPRI under the current TB Plan.
Kelly says his group considered a range of technical and scientific advice, and believes the eradication of TB from New Zealand is feasible and economically justifiable.
The proposed changes to the TB Plan were put to farmers, local communities and other stakeholders in June and July this year. About 400 submissions were received on the draft plan proposal, and the governance group took them into account in its final proposal to Guy.
Environment Minister Nicola Grigg has announced details of a new rural plastics recycling scheme.
Agricultural drone operators say that a government decision to allow lower-risk drone work without certification won’t lower standards but drive innovation and efficiency.
OPINION: Warning bells are ringing in the arable sector.
Farmgate lamb prices are down by 8%, beef cattle by 4.5% and farm expenditure up by 4.2%.
Kiwifruit growers are watchful but remain optimistic as concerns around the potential effects of the El Niño weather pattern this season.
Almond hulls sourced from Australian orchards may have the potential to help New Zealand cows reduce emissions, boost milk yield and lower input costs.