UK Politician Alistair Carmichael Praises "Positive Spirit" of NZ Farmers
A leading British farming politician says he's impressed with the positive attitude of New Zealand farmers that he met during his recent trip here.
Irish company Micron Agritech will be bringing their animal health diagnostic technology to National Fieldays, with The Micron Kit, a rapid Faecal Egg Count (FEC) testing system for gastro-intestinal worms and liver and rumen fluke in cattle, sheep, horses, goats and llamas.
This AI-powered platform delivers lab-quality test results and analytics in just 10 minutes, helping to speed up diagnosis and providing practitioners with the information needed to make treatment decisions protocols, or indeed, whether medicinal intervention is necessary.
The kit was initially developed as a university project by co-founders Sean Smith, Daniel Izquierdo, Tara McElligott and Jose Lopez in 2019 in response to new European legislation aimed at limiting the use of anthelmintics on farms as a preventative measure, which was prompted by concerns over a rise in anthelminthic-resistance due to the prolonged overuse and misuse of certain medications.
The ‘Micron Kit’ enables vets, farmers, and animal-health professionals to run rapid on-site parasite testing for grazing animals, using a faecal sample with a simple sample preparation method, a smartphone app, and the Micron reader.
Users receive FEC results within minutes, identify animals needing treatment, reduce unnecessary dosing, slow drug resistance, and generate shareable diagnostic reports.
The Micron Kit is being used extensively by leading veterinary practices in Europe, with the Micron Agritech team planning to bring the system to New Zealand to support farmers, veterinarians and animal health professionals to identify and treat livestock for parasites.
By providing access to rapid diagnostics, which enables more effective and sustainable treatment/no treatment decisions.
On display at this year’s Fieldays Innovation Awards in the Growth & Scale Award category, with a complementary display at the Enterprise Ireland site (D67).
A major move is about to get underway to improve the quality and viability of dairy beef and cattle in NZ.
Veterinarians say changes to the code of welfare for dairy cattle provides a positive foundation for improved cattle welfare across the country.
Today, 15 October, is the International Day of Rural Women, which recognises rural women’s contribution to farming, communities and the environment.
Global dairy giant Lactalis has integrated its Australian operations with the Mainland Dairy consumer business it acquired from Fonterra earlier this year.
After almost two decades of sharemilking, saving and building equity, Aaron and Marcia Flay this year realised their long-held dream of settling on their first dairy farm.
Good medium to long term prospects for NZ beef, especially in the US, has heighted the focus on various initiatives to capitalise on this situation.

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