Strong uptake of good wintering practices
DairyNZ has seen a significant increase in the number of farmers improving their wintering practices, which results in a higher standard of animal care and environmental protection.
The cow carcases photographed by Farmwatch appear to have been tipped over a bank into a gully -- not an offal pit, said spokesman John Darroch.
“When we arrived at the scene rats were running over the carcases. The gully was within 10m of a stream and 20m from a swamp.
“I am certain the owners must have been aware of this gully full of bodies; it appeared that the bones in it were many years old. I think this gully of bodies predates our [filming] the individual abusing animals,” he says.
Northland Regional Council, which is responsible for approving and monitoring offal pits, says it’s investigating the farm in question.
Colin Dall, group manager regulatory services, told Dairy News that if the photographs are correct, the so-called offal pit does not comply with NRC regulations which require pits to meet certain standards, one of which is that animals must be covered. He says the pit on the Mangapai dairy farm has no consent so is illegal.
Dall said last week that his staff were planning to visit the site soon and report fully.
The rules on offal pits in Northland require them to be not less than 50m from a waterway or bore, not less than 50m from a residence and there can be no direct discharge of leachate to surface water.
Offal pits and dead stock disposal sites must be covered to prevent nuisance odours and exclude vermin.
The rules also state that the volume of offal or dead stock dumped on any one property must not exceed 5cu.m per year.
With the involvement of NRC, this means that two separate investigations are now taking place on the farm: MPI is looking at animal welfare issues and the council at the offal pit.
Dairy News asked DairyNZ to supply a contact phone number for the owners of the farm, but at press time had had no response. Dairy News had planned to ask the owners if they were aware of the acts of animal cruelty and the state of the offal pit before this was revealed by Farmwatch, when they last visited the farm and how often they visited.
DairyNZ issued a brief statement on the animal cruelty issue at the farm. Strategy leader Dr Jenny Jago says the wellbeing of animals is at the heart of every dairy farm, that it’s not okay to treat any animal poorly -- ever -- and that the vast majority of farmers care deeply about their animals.
“This footage is disturbing and it has been reported that a complaint has been laid. This type of appalling behaviour is absolutely not representative of the thousands of farmers who work with cows every day and are passionate about animal welfare,” she says.
Jago says cruel and illegal practices are not in any way condoned or accepted by the dairy sector as part of dairy farming. Farmers who treat cows badly shouldn’t be working in the dairy sector, she says.
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon says the relationship between New Zealand and the US will remain strong and enduring irrespective of changing administrations.
More than 200 people turned out on Thursday, November 21 to see what progress has been made on one of NZ's biggest and most comprehensive agriculture research programmes on regenerative agriculture.
The a2 Milk Company (a2MC) says securing more China label registrations and developing its own nutritional manufacturing capability are high on its agenda.
Stellar speakers, top-notch trade sites, innovation, technology and connections are all on offer at the 2025 East Coast Farming Expo being once again hosted in Wairoa in February.
As a guest of the Italian Trade Association, Rural News Group Machinery Editor Mark Daniel took the opportunity to make an early November dash to Bologna to the 46th EIMA exhibition.
The horticulture sector is a big winner from recent free trade deals sealed with the Gulf states, says Associate Agriculture Minister Nicola Grigg.
OPINION: Fonterra may have sold its dairy farms in China but the appetite for collaboration with the country remains strong.
OPINION: The Listener's latest piece on winter grazing among Southland dairy farmers leaves much to be desired.