fbpx
Print this page
Monday, 27 May 2019 13:27

Update NAIT before Moving Day — Minister

Written by 
Damien O'Connor. Damien O'Connor.

Agriculture Minister Damien O’Connor isn’t happy with the high number of farms yet to re-register with the National Animal Identification and Tracing (NAIT) scheme ahead of Moving Day, June 1.

Almost 8000 dairy farming locations still need to re-register.

O’Connor says it’s not good enough.

“One thing the Mycoplasma bovis response has highlighted is the low levels of compliance with NAIT,” O’Connor said.

Following a recent NAIT system upgrade, every person in charge of animals must re-register their NAIT location.

“Farmers and industry have been asking MPI to increase compliance so that people who are not complying can be held to account. Last year I introduced a package of technical law changes to support the M.bovis eradication programme, as a result of that MPI increased the number of compliance staff,” he says.

“So far this year they have conducted 455 on-farm inspections. Well over half of the farms inspected were non-compliant to such an extent they have faced enforcement action.” Compliance staff have served 82 Notices of Direction and issued 169 infringement notices to non-compliant farms. 

“Moving Day is part of dairy farming culture in New Zealand. As the new season starts, thousands of sharemilkers around the country move their cows, equipment and families to new farms.

“The main way the disease spreads is through the movement of animals. We want some honesty in terms of tracing, so that we can track and trace every possible infected animal. 

“We need to get to a position where every single animal movement on every single farm in the country is recorded. If we’d had that system before M.bovis we wouldn’t be in the position we are now.”

He says farmers need to step up and take responsibility.

“This is not just a job for MPI – every farmer in New Zealand has to play their part.We’ve ramped up our compliance activities and those who don’t comply will face the music.

“We’re trying to stop M.bovis going through the entire national herd. We are on track to eradicate this disease and we need the support of farmers, so get on to NAIT and complete your re-registration.”

More like this

Not popular

OPINION: This old mutt hears that his editor has copped a fair bit of flak from readers after an article on former Agriculture Minister Damien O’Connor appeared in the last issue of this fine organ.

Reflecting a challenging period

Damien O'Connor admits his six years in office were incredibly challenging, with Covid, droughts, floods, storms, M. bovis and volcanic eruptions to name a few.

Back to the backbench

Former Labour agriculture and trade minister Damien O'Connor hopes the new coalition Governent will continue the direction of travel initiated by his government in terms of ensuring the high reputation of our primary exports.

Featured

Sheep drench resistance costly

Analysis by Dunedin-based Techion New Zealand shows the cost of undetected drench resistance in sheep has exploded to an estimated $98 million a year.

Dairy sheep and goat turmoil

Dairy sheep and goat farmers are being told to reduce milk supply as processors face a slump in global demand for their products.

Hurry up and slow down!

OPINION: We have good friends from way back who had lived in one of our major cities for many years.

National

Govt urged to reduce ETS units

The Climate Change Commission wants the new Government to reduce NZ Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS) auction volumes as son as…

Dairy sheep, goat woes mount

Dairy sheep and goat farmers are being told to reduce milk supply as processors face a slump in global demand…

Machinery & Products

All-terrain fert spreading mode

Effluent specialists the Samson Group have developed a new double unloading system to help optimise uphill and downhill organic fertiliser…

Can-Am showcases range

Based on industry data collected by the Motor Industry Association, Can-Am is the number one side-by-side manufacturer in New Zealand.