$52,500 fine for effluent mismanagement
A Taupiri farming company has been convicted and fined $52,500 in the Hamilton District Court for the unlawful discharge of dairy effluent into the environment.
Waikato Milking Systems (WMS) will use Fieldays to promote its expansion beyond milking systems into effluent and environmental products.
The Hamilton company in 2015 bought the effluent management specialist Hi-Tech Enviro Solutions, founded in Morrinsville in 1992.
“The acquisition aligned with WMS’s expansion of its product offering,” said its chief executive Campbell Parker.
“Now is the right time to fully integrate effluent and environmental into the WMS core product offering rather than keeping it as a separate brand.
“Since we acquired Hi-Tech Enviro Solutions we’ve been working to improve the quality of product and aligning the culture of both businesses to reflect the standards WMS is known for.
“We’ve also needed to work with our dealer network to ensure seamless delivery of our entire product range.
“Farmers will now be able to discuss their effluent needs with any member of the WMS team.
“When a farmer needs an effluent system review one of our dairy effluent specialists will advise and design a system for compliance.
“WMS is a trusted brand in dairying world-wide, and adding effluent and environmental will give farmers confidence that they are getting the best advice and systems to future-proof their farm dairies.”
The WMS Fieldays site has been extended and will display all the company’s products -- milking parlors, milking automation, dairy management, milk cooling and effluent and environmental.
Federated Farmers says almost 2000 farmers have signed a petition launched this month to urge the Government to step in and provide certainty while the badly broken resource consent system is fixed.
Zespri’s counter-seasonal Zespri Global Supply (ZGS) programme is underway with approximately 33 million trays, or 118,800 tonnes, expected this year from orchards throughout France, Italy, Greece, Korea, and Japan.
Animal owners can help protect life-saving antibiotics from resistant bacteria by keeping their animals healthy, says the New Zealand Veterinary Association.
According to analysis by the Meat Industry Association (MIA), New Zealand red meat exports reached $827 million in October, a 27% increase on the same period last year.
The black and white coat of Holstein- Friesian cows is globally recognised as a symbol of dairy farming and a defining trait of domestic cattle. But until recently, scientists didn’t know which genes were responsible for the Holstein’s spots.
According to the New Zealand Dairy Statistics 2024/25 report, New Zealand dairy farmers are achieving more with fewer cows.
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