Editorial: Happy days
OPINION: The year has started positively for New Zealand dairy farmers and things are likely to get better.
The Ministry for Primary Industries (MPI) will be visiting packhouses and other horticultural operations across the country from today.
Horticulture New Zealand (HortNZ) says that the visits are educational in nature, aiming to help the industry understand its obligations as an essential service and help with compliance to stop the spread of COVID-19, which is the Government’s chief objective.
HortNZ says MPI appreciates that the horticulture sector has responded positively to the Government’s requirements under Level 4.
MPI officials will visit singularly, may phone ahead and will be from various MPI services.
They will keep a two-metre distance, are aware of biosecurity issues and the visits will be short. MPI officials will be able to answer questions verbally and can email information too.
MPI has also undertaken measures to improve the registration process.
Once the process has been improved, those that have registered will receive confirmation and a registration number via email.
Organisations can register here: https://www.mpi.govt.nz/covid-19-essential-primary-sector-service-registration
The sale of Fonterra’s global consumer and related businesses is expected to be completed within two months.
Fonterra is boosting its butter production capacity to meet growing demand.
For the most part, dairy farmers in the Waikato, Bay of Plenty, Tairawhiti and the Manawatu appear to have not been too badly affected by recent storms across the upper North Island.
South Island dairy production is up on last year despite an unusually wet, dull and stormy summer, says DairyNZ lower South Island regional manager Jared Stockman.
Following a side-by-side rolling into a gully, Safer Farms has issued a new Safety Alert.
Coming in at a year-end total at 3088 units, a rise of around 10% over the 2806 total for 2024, the signs are that the New Zealand farm machinery industry is turning the corner after a difficult couple of years.

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