Help available for flood-hit farmers
The chair of the Otago Rural Support Trust, Tom Pinckney, says he believes that they will be especially busy in the coming months as the enormity of the floods hit home.
As the five year mark of the programme to eradicate M. bovis is reached, a new discovery has been made.
MPI’s director of the M.bovis eradication programme Simon Andrew said the infected farm in Mid-Canterbury has clear links to previously infected farms.
"The new confirmed infected property neighbours a cleared confirmed property with strong links to the Wakanui cluster,” Andrew says.
“We are continuing to investigate the infection source and are working with the farmer to depopulate the property in a way that minimises disruption as much as possible.”
He adds that as a result of the new infected property, MPI will be tracing animal movements and other risk events.
“This will likely see an increase in the number of farms under movement restrictions while we ensure the risk of disease spread is mitigated," Andrew says.
This new case has dashed hopes that the country could finally be rid of the cattle disease.
Since 2017 when the disease was found in New Zealand, 280 farms have been cleared if it. Since then, $641 million has been spent on eradication efforts out of a total $870m budget.
Andrew says it is vital that farmers continue animal tracing through National Animal Identification and Tracing (NAIT).
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon says the relationship between New Zealand and the US will remain strong and enduring irrespective of changing administrations.
More than 200 people turned out on Thursday, November 21 to see what progress has been made on one of NZ's biggest and most comprehensive agriculture research programmes on regenerative agriculture.
The a2 Milk Company (a2MC) says securing more China label registrations and developing its own nutritional manufacturing capability are high on its agenda.
Stellar speakers, top-notch trade sites, innovation, technology and connections are all on offer at the 2025 East Coast Farming Expo being once again hosted in Wairoa in February.
As a guest of the Italian Trade Association, Rural News Group Machinery Editor Mark Daniel took the opportunity to make an early November dash to Bologna to the 46th EIMA exhibition.
The horticulture sector is a big winner from recent free trade deals sealed with the Gulf states, says Associate Agriculture Minister Nicola Grigg.
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