increase font size
BLNZ general manager farm, Richard Wakelin.
Farmer demand for help on health and safety has tested Beef + Lamb NZ's capacity to deliver.
BLNZ general manager farm, Richard Wakelin, says the industry good body originally planned to run 32 seminars by the end of June, but the demand is prompting it to run at least double this number.
Wakelin told Rural News that H&S has dominated the farming landscape in the past six months, resulting in a massive demand on BLNZ extension managers for advice.
"These seminars have been really well received by farmers because they have helped break down some of the myths about what they need to do to manage their health and safety obligations onfarm," he says.
"I think the focus for farmers has been on meeting regulations -- be they health and safety or environment."
Wakelin says from what he's seen, farmers have never taken a 'she'll be right' approach to H&S.
"They are finding out what they need to do differently as opposed to what they normally did, and building confidence about what they have to do onfarm," he explains.
"Take field days: these are now run under a tight health and safety programme, but they are just as enjoyable."
Wakelin says farmer attendance at the BLNZ H&S seminars has been excellent.
Recent widespread autumn rain will have triggered the germination of subterranean clover seeds, and the resulting seedlings should be allowed to reach the 3–4 trifoliate leaf stage before grazing, says Beef+Lamb NZ.
A hub farm in each of Beef + Lamb NZ’s seven regions and more focus groups are being rolled out for the red meat sector this year.
The red meat sector is poised for a strong rebound this season, with export receipts forecast to top $10 billion and farm profitability to almost double.
Progeny testing at Pāmu’s Kepler farm in Southland as part of Beef + Lamb New Zealand’s Informing New Zealand Beef programme is showing that the benefits of hybrid vigour could have a massive impact on the future of beef breeding.
Beef + Lamb New Zealand (B+LNZ) has reiterated calls for New Zealand to revise its methane targets after the Government's "disappointing" announcement of its revised Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC).
Two butcheries have claimed victory at the 100% New Zealand Bacon & Ham Awards for 2025.
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.
The Climate Change Commission’s 2025 emissions reduction monitoring report reveals steady progress on the reduction of New Zealand’s climate pollution.
Another milestone has been reached in the fight against Mycoplasma bovis with the compensation assistance service being wound up after helping more than 1300 farmers.
The Government’s directive for state farmer Landcorp Farming (trading as Pamu) to lifts its performance is yielding results.
The move to bring bovine TB testing in-house at Ospri officially started this month, as a team of 37 skilled and experienced technicians begin work with the disease eradication agency.
OPINION: Spare a thought for the arable farmer, squeezed on one side by soft global prices and on the other…
OPINION: Labour leader Chris 'Chippy' Hipkins is carrying on the world-class gaslighting of the nation that he and his cohorts…
