Rowarth appointed DairyNZ deputy chair
DairyNZ has appointed Jacqueline Rowarth as its first deputy board chair.
Beef + Lamb NZ and DairyNZ are working through the cost-sharing process for the industry share of eradicating Mycoplasma bovis, says BLNZ general manager policy and advocacy Dave Harrison.
“To come up with a fair approach we have been making use of an independent panel,” he told Dairy News in a joint statement from both industry-good bodies.
“We have had initial advice and are providing feedback. Once the process has finalised, a recommendation will go to our respective boards and be shared with farmers.
“Given this is a sensitive and important process, we can’t comment on the specifics until it has been agreed and approved by our respective boards.”
The cost of the eradication programme is reckoned at $886 million over 10 years. MPI says $16m of that is loss of production and will be borne by farmers, while $870m is the cost of the response, including compensation.
The Government will pay 68% of that and the two levying bodies, DairyNZ and BLNZ, will pay 32% (about $278m).
But exactly how it will be split between them remains under discussion. Earlier this year dairy industry sources said an 80/20 split between dairy farmers and beef farmers would be fair. However, beef farmers were pushing for a 90/10 split, pointing out that dairy farms are at the centre of the outbreak.
Rural trader PGG Wrightson has revised its operating earnings guidance, saying trading conditions have deteriorated since the last market update in February.
It's been a bumper season for maize and other supplements in the eastern Bay of Plenty.
Leading farmers from around New Zealand connected to share environmental stories and inspiration and build relationships at the Dairy Environment Leaders (DEL) national forum in Wellington last month.
AgriZeroNZ, a joint venture fast-tracking emissions reduction tools for farmers, is pouring $5 million in a biotech company to develop a low emissions farm pasture with increased productivity gains.
Fonterra is teaming up with wealth app provider Sharesies to make it easier for its farmer shareholders to trade co-op shares among themselves.
Te Awamutu dairy farmers Doug, Penny, Josh and Bayley Storey have planted more than 25,000 native trees on the family farm, adding to a generations-old native forest.