Anti-parasite drugs 'affect lamb development'
AgResearch scientists have collected the first known data showing behavioural developmental impacts on lambs whose mothers were treated with long-acting drugs for parasites.
Te Puke is famed as New Zealand’s kiwifruit capital, but new research could mean that top spot is contested in the future, with suitable kiwifruit production land identified in Waikato, Taranaki and the top of the South Island.
Information about the land use suitability and production potential of a wide variety of crops became much easier to find today, with the launch of the Data Supermarket.
The Data Supermarket is a new online storehouse of data about the ingredients, food and fibre New Zealand can grow now and in the future.
It includes information about a wide array of vegetable, fruit, arable, animal, plant and tree crops, plus climate and economic data.
The datasets were created between 2020 and 2023, and the range is still growing, with researchers creating and curating environmental, economic, social and cultural information for different land use options.
Dr Robyn Dynes, research lead at AgResearch, says the goal of the Data Supermarket is to assist the primary sector to identify a greater range of suitable land opportunities.
“We know we can grow a much greater range of food and fibre in New Zealand. But the question has been: what will grow well, where? Our research aims to help people answer that,” she says.
The data repository contains a wide range of datasets with information on suitability, yield maps, climate change impacts and economic information.
“Farm advisors with good technical skills will be able to use the data to create a short-list of potential land-use options that may be feasible, for their clients to consider as candidates for in-depth business cases from local experts,” says Dynes.
“Our hope is that by bringing these datasets together and providing open access, innovators will also see potential to create new tools.”
The datasets were produced by a team of researchers from multiple institutes and scientific disciplines as part of the Land Use Opportunities: Whitiwhiti Ora research programme funded by the Our Land and Water National Science Challenge.
The data is available to all those planning or providing advice on land-use options in New Zealand.
The Data Supermarket is now accessible at https://landuseopportunities.nz.
There are calls for the Reserve Bank to drop its banking capital rules, which Federated Farmers says is costing farmers a fortune.
Beef + Lamb New Zealand (B+LNZ) is calling on livestock farmers to take part in a survey measuring the financial impact of facial eczema (FE).
Soon farmers and working dog breeders will be able to have a dog that best suits their needs thanks to a team of researchers at Massey University.
OPINION: President Donald Trump's bizarre hard line approach to the world of what was once 'rules-based trade' has got New Zealand government officials, politicians and exporters on tenterhooks.
With wool prices steadily declining and shearing costs on the rise, a Waikato couple began looking for a solution for wool from their 80ha farm.
The Horticulture New Zealand (HortNZ) team is looking forward to connecting with growers at the upcoming South Island Agricultural Field Days, says HortNZ chief executive Kate Scott.