M.I.A.
OPINION: The previous government spent too much during the Covid-19 pandemic, despite warnings from officials, according to a briefing released by the Treasury.
MPI boss Ray Smith has appealed to all those involved in food and beverage processing to be meticulous about hygiene.
He says people working in these essential industries during the COVID-19 crisis are doing an amazing job. Smith emphasises that it is so important for them, and New Zealand, to observe the new and much higher health standards.
He says in meat processing plants and packhouses people need to abide by the social distancing rules, but if for any specific reasons they can’t he says they should limit these to a minimum and document them.
“In a packhouse you might have 500 people in it to maintain level a of production. The meats works are covered by specific protocols and the dairy industry has quite sophisticated, large operations,” Smith told Rural News.
“The hygiene factors in these areas are so high that introducing additional measures is something they have taken to quite well.”
Smith reiterates the need for washing hands and keeping hands away from your face. He also points out that it is important for workers to stay in their bubble if they have a bubble at home and bubble at work – and not to introduce anyone else into those bubbles.
“That’s when you run the risk of not being able to trace the disease and risk contamination,” he says.
MPI says is getting its messages out through its website, other industry organisations and the rural media.
Smith says he doesn’t underestimate the communication challenge the rural community is facing – especially with variable quality broadband and lack of cell phone communication in some areas.
A new $50,000 scholarship fund designed to support and empower women in the New Zealand dairy industry through leadership development has been launched.
Many farmers around the country are taking advantage of the high dairy payout to get maximum production out of their cows.
In 2015, the signing of a joint venture between St Peter's School, Cambridge, and Lincoln University saw the start of an exciting new chapter for Owl Farm as the first demonstration dairy farm in the North Island. Ten years on, the joint venture is still going strong.
Sheep milk processor Maui Milk is on track to record average ewe production of 500 litres by 2030, says outgoing chief executive Greg Hamill.
Parliamentary Commissioner for the Environment Simon Upton is calling for cross-party consensus on the country's overarching environmental goals.
Changes to New Zealand’s postal service has left rural communities disappointed.
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