MPI’s Diana Reaich: Building global trade relationships
Relationships are key to opening new trading opportunities and dealing with some of the rules that countries impose that impede the free flow of trade.
Left to right: RCNZ’s Roger Parton, Fed Farmers’ Gavin Forrest and MPI’s Joe Stockman at the RCNZ Nelson conference.
Rural contractors have challenged MPI and Federated Farmers over the management of Mycoplasma bovis.
At the Rural Contractors NZ conference, held in Nelson last month, re-elected RCNZ president David Kean led the questioning on disease.
He says a second round of M. bovis was being suggested on some Southland farms and contractors were no better off than the first time in knowing whether a farm was infected or not.
Kean added that using TracMap, contractors like him could visit three farms a day without direct contact with a farmer, raising the risk of spreading the infection. Taranaki’s Chris Satherley claimed that MPI had put contractors in a terrible position and if eradication was sought, the names of affected properties had to be communicated.
Federated Farmers general manager for policy and advocacy, Gavin Forrest, told the conference that all farms with infected herds were required to have signs on their gate and it was traumatic enough for farming families without the risk of victimisation.
RCNZ chief executive Roger Parton explained that contractors had to travel from farm to farm, so knowing which farms were suspected of having M. bovis would allow them to take appropriate measures and not expand the risk. Forrest said if contractors were washing down equipment between farms the chances of spread were virtually nil.
MPI’s Joe Stockman told the conference the primary sources for transfer were cow-to-cow contact and contaminated milk. He also claimed some farmers had not given a “sh!t” about keeping NAIT records, which had not helped.
Stockman added that 176 properties were under investigation for M. bovis, making it the most challenging biosecurity issue farmers had ever faced.
But he pointed out there were 22,000 farms nationally and fewer infected dairy herds were emerging and the disease was not moving into beef herds.
The conference was told farm biosecurity issues were not limited to M. bovis. Helen Slattery, who sits on a national committee dealing with velvetleaf, said some farmers had been driven near to suicide over the invasive pest.
According to ASB, Fonterra's plan to sell it's Anchor and Mainlands brands could inject $4.5 billion in additional spending into the economy.
New Zealand’s trade with the European Union has jumped $2 billion since a free trade deal entered into force in May last year.
The climate of uncertainty and market fragmentation that currently characterises the global economy suggests that many of the European agricultural machinery manufacturers will be looking for new markets.
Dignitaries from all walks of life – the governor general, politicians past and present, Maoridom- including the Maori Queen, church leaders, the primary sector and family and friends packed Our Lady of Kapiti’s Catholic church in Paraparaumu on Thursday October 23 to pay tribute to former prime Minister, Jim Bolger who died last week.
Agriculture and Forestry Minister, Todd McClay is encouraging farmers, growers, and foresters not to take unnecessary risks, asking that they heed weather warnings today.
With nearly two million underutilised dairy calves born annually and the beef price outlook strong, New Zealand’s opportunity to build a scalable dairy-beef system is now.

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