Strong uptake of good wintering practices
DairyNZ has seen a significant increase in the number of farmers improving their wintering practices, which results in a higher standard of animal care and environmental protection.
Information technology will be the key to farming in the future, says DairyNZ’s general manager for research and development.
Dr David McCall says to some extent this is a generational thing: baby boomers were not brought up on computers, tablets and smartphones, but the new generation of farmers will take to using information more than older dairy farmers.
Science has progressed much in the last five years, developing new ways to help dairy farmers manage environmental issues, he says. Five years ago there was a question mark over how much science could do for farmers, but many things are now in the pipeline.
“We are now looking at the nutrient problem and finding more ways to manage this including breeding a cow that produces less N, and feeding cows pasture species that dilute their urine -- exciting possibilities.
“Science takes a while to come through and it can be a bit invisible. But we are starting to feel confident about some things that are coming even though it may take another three to five years before we hit the ground running.
The key is to break down problems and deal with them step by step and just keep plugging away.”
Science now has a significant role in changing some of the perceptions about agriculture, McCall says. A lot of dairy industry money, matched by government, has gone into greenhouse gas research and exciting scientific finds are not far from being revealed; when that happens their impact on public perceptions will start to turn things around.
“On the urban/rural issues, we need to remember we are all Kiwis with many things in common. I wonder [if rural people] get a bit too sensitive.... Many urban people back dairy.”
McCall finds it interesting to look at the Irish public perception of farming there. NZ and Ireland have much in common in their agriculture, but Irish farmers have the luxury of public backing. But he warns this may be short lived as their dairy industry expands with the lifting of EU controls on the amount of milk farmers can produce.
“They are running into the same problems we are having to deal with here.”
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.
Livestock can be bred for lower methane emissions while also improving productivity at a rate greater than what the industry is currently achieving, research has shown.
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