MPI defends cost of new biosecurity lab
The head of the Ministry for Primary Industries (MPI) biosecurity operation, Stuart Anderson, has defended the cost and the need for a Plant Healht and Environment Laboratory (PHEL) being built in Auckland.
The Ministry of Primary Industries (MPI) has paid out almost $124 million in compensation for claims related to the cattle disease, Mycoplasma bovis.
In its latest stakeholder update on the disease, MPI says almost 1500 claims were paid and completed: 126 claims are being processed with 23 working days on average to pay a new claim.
To date there have been 218 confirmed cases of M. bovis: 166 in the South Island and 52 in the North Island. Of these, 193 properties have been cleared while 25 remain active.
As at December 2019, over 130,000 animals have been culled. Over 1.1 million tests have been completed on farms.
M. bovis was first identified in New Zealand in July 2017. In May 2018, MPI announced the Government, dairy and beef industries had agreed to eradicate M. bovis from New Zealand.
Moves are afoot to get a team of Australians over here to help repair North Canterbury's irrigation machinery, ravaged by the big windstorm of late October.
As you approach Hastings from the south along SH2, the colour of the west-facing hills are a good indicator of a drought.
Global beef trade is expected to grow steadily over the next five years, driven by increasing demand from Asia and strategic export expansions by South American countries.
Carpet maker Bremworth is reinstating solution-dyed nylon (SDN) into its product mix but says wool carpets remain central to its brand.
While New Zealand may be under siege from braindead, flesh-eating monstrosities, that doesn’t mean lambing can stop.
OPINION: As negotiations advance on the India-New Zealand FTA, it’s important to remember the joint commitment made by Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and New Zealand Prime Minister Christopher Luxon at the beginning of this process in March: for a balanced, ambitious, comprehensive, and mutually beneficial agreement.

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