Crazy
OPINION: Your canine crusader was truly impressed by the almost unanimous support given by politicians of all stripes in Parliament to the recent passing of legislation for the NZ/EU free trade deal.
The Government is providing $700,000 to fund a project to support Māori landowners to invest in New Zealand’s growing sheep milk industry, says Agriculture Minister Damien O’Connor.
“We are backing the Māori Agribusiness Sheep Milk Collective, which has ambitious goals to have multiple farms milking about 25,000 sheep and potentially employing more than 100 people by 2030,” O’Connor says.
He says global demand for sheep milk and sheep milk products is booming, with exports of New Zealand sheep milk products were valued at $20 million in 2020.
“We are injecting $700,000 into the Māori Agribusiness Sheep Milk Collective to help them explore the potential of their whenua to sustainably produce sheep milk at scale, create jobs and further grow this emerging export market.
“The collective is made up of 20 Māori land trusts and incorporations that own more than 24,000 hectares of land stretching from the western shore of Lake Taupō to the Hauraki Plains.
“Those sheep could initially produce more than six million litres of milk, or one million kilograms of milksolids, and within a kaupapa Māori-owned value chain.”
The collective was set up through the Ministry for Primary Industries’ Māori Agribusiness Extension (MABx) programme, which has been allocated $12 million over four years to provide farmer-to-farmer support to Māori landowners and trustees.
“The investment is part of the Government’s Fit for a Better World roadmap, which aims for food and fibre sector exports to earn an extra $44 billion over 10 years,” O’Connor says.
“MPI’s Māori Agribusiness team has partnered with 26 Māori agribusiness clusters across the motu since 2019, helping Māori landowners access support and expertise.”
“MPI is funding a $12.56 million six-year project with the aim of building a high-value and sustainable sheep dairy industry in Aotearoa New Zealand,” Damien O’Connor said.
“Last year construction and development was taking place across several new sheep dairy farms in the greater Waikato and a new infant formula was launched as part of the project.
“We are focussed on our economic recovery from COVID-19. By strengthening the environmental credentials of our food and fibre products and capturing further value growth, Fit for a Better World drives us along that recovery,” says O’Connor.
Rural banker Rabobank is partnering with Food Rescue Kitchen on a new TV series which airs this weekend that aims to shine a light on the real and growing issues of food waste, food poverty and social isolation in New Zealand.
Telco infrastructure provider Chorus says that it believes all Kiwis – particularly those in the rural areas – need access to high-speed, reliable broadband.
World Veterinary Day falls on Saturday 27 April.
The Director General of MPI, Ray Smith says it's important for his department to celebrate the success of a whole range of groups and people around the country.
A small company which mobilised veterinarians around the country to deal with Mycoplasma bovis was one of the winners in this year's Biosecurity Awards, held at Parliament.
One of the country's top Māori sheep and beef farms is facing a five-year battle to get back to where it was before Cyclone Gabrielle struck just over 14 months ago.
OPINION: The new government has clearly signalled big cuts across the public service.
OPINION: Your canine crusader is not surprised by the recent news that New Zealand plant-based ‘fake meat’ business is in…