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.
A Pukekohe deer farmer has been fined $12,000 for not tagging 278 animals under the National Animal Identification and Tracing (NAIT) scheme.
Under the scheme, all cattle or deer must be fitted with a NAIT tag and registered in the NAIT system by the time the animal is 180 days old, or before the animal is moved off farm.
Lester Harrison Nixon (age 73) was sentenced last week in the Papakura District Court on two charges under the National Animal Identification and Tracing Act, following a prosecution by the Ministry for Primary Industries (MPI).
Nixon has three properties registered in the NAIT database.
“NAIT tags are there to track and trace animals,” says MPI acting national manager animal welfare and NAIT compliance, Brendon Mikkelsen.
“They play a critical role in helping to ensure we can respond quickly and accurately in the event of a biosecurity incursion,” he says. “When people in charge of animals disregard their NAIT obligations they put the whole agricultural sector at risk.”
MPI made inquiries with Nixon about outstanding animal movements on his NAIT account in 2021.
“We found Mr Nixon had made little effort to comply with the NAIT system, advising us that he does not tag his deer until just before they’re transported. He said he does not register the tags and that he had farmed for over 30 years without it (NAIT),” says Mikkelsen.
During a search of one of the properties where Nixon had NAIT animals grazing, MPI found 132 deer not fitted with a NAIT tag and at another of Nixon’s properties, a further 146 deer were also not fitted with tags.
In 2019, penalties in the NAIT Act increased tenfold to $100,000 for an individual, and up to $200,000 for a body corporate.
Mikkelsen says while receiving one of these penalties could hurt the bottom line for people in charge of animals, the inability to trace animals can have far reaching and serious consequences for everyone.
"The NAIT tag and registration system is only as effective as the information entered in. If you are unsure about what you need to do, reach out. There is plenty of information, advice and support available," he says.
Fonterra shareholders are concerned with a further decline in the co-op’s share of milk collected in New Zealand.
A governance group has been formed, following extensive sector consultation, to implement the recommendations from the Industry Working Group's (IWG) final report and is said to be forming a 'road map' for improving New Zealand's animal genetic gain system.
Free workshops focused on managing risk in sharefarming got underway last week.
Annual farmer gathering, the South Island Dairy Event (SIDE), is set to make history as it heads to Timaru for the first time.
Installing 400 solar panels at their Taranaki piggery and cropping operation will have significant environmental, financial and animal welfare benefits for the Stanley family.
WoolWorks, New Zealand’s largest wool-scouring company, has partnered with the Lions Club of Riverton to help raise money for much-needed repairs to the Southland town’s swimming pool.
OPINION: Was the ASB Economic Weekly throwing shade on Reserve Bank governor Adrian Orr when reporting on his speech in…
OPINION: A reader recently had a shot at the various armchair critics that she judged to be more than a…