Bucknell to chair NZPork's board
NZPork has appointed Auckland-based Paul Bucknell as its new chair.
The country's pork sector has welcomed an extension to consultation on a controversial draft code of welfare for pigs.
Following a request to the Ministry for Primary Industries (MPI), it has agreed to extend the consultation by two weeks to July 8 after discussions with NZ Pork.
"When the consultation was launched at the end of April, it quickly became clear to us that an eight-week period was insufficient time to allow for well-considered submissions to be made from all industry stakeholders," chief executive of NZ Pork Brent Kleiss says.
:"The proposed changes are colosal and unprecedented, the material accompanying the draft code is substantial and there is a large amount of information for farmers and other industry stakeholders to review and assess.
"Given the survival of individual farmers and the industry supply chain is at stake, we are pleased MPI has agreed to our request."
The draft code goes well beyond the welfare requirements in other countries.
It includes major changes to the minimum space allowance required for grower pigs, a ban or significant limitation on the traditional use of farrowing systems (farrowing crates) and an effective ban on mating stalls.
Kleiss claims the proposed changes could force pig farmers out of business and put the price of New Zealand born and raised pork out of the reach of many New Zealanders.
NZPork has appointed Auckland-based Paul Bucknell as its new chair.
The Government claims to have delivered on its election promise to protect productive farmland from emissions trading scheme (ETS) but red meat farmers aren’t happy.
Foot and Mouth Disease outbreaks could have a detrimental impact on any country's rural sector, as seen in the United Kingdom's 2000 outbreak that saw the compulsory slaughter of over six million animals.
The Ministry for the Environment is joining as a national award sponsor in the Ballance Farm Environment Awards (BFEA from next year).
Kiwis are wasting less of their food than they were two years ago, and this has been enough to push New Zealand’s total household food waste bill lower, the 2025 Rabobank KiwiHarvest Food Waste survey has found.
OPINION: Sir Lockwood Smith has clearly and succinctly defined what academic freedom is all about, the boundaries around it and the responsibility that goes with this privilege.
OPINION: For years, the ironically named Dr Mike Joy has used his position at Victoria University to wage an activist-style…
OPINION: A mate of yours truly has had an absolute gutsful of the activist group SAFE.