MPI launches industry-wide project to manage feral deer
An industry-wide project led by Ministry for Primary Industries (MPI) is underway to deal with the rising number of feral pests, in particular, browsing pests such as deer and pigs.
Primary Industries Minister Nathan Guy has welcomed the findings of an independent report into the Primary Growth Partnership (PGP) by the Office of the Auditor-General.
"I'm pleased with the findings of this report which show the PGP is generally working well and has made improvements from when it was first set up," says Guy.
"The report praises the Ministry for Primary Industries (MPI) for managing partnerships with industry and notes the good progress being achieved in these innovative R&D programmes.
Guy says that the MPI accepts the recommendations for improvements in how to more clearly communicate progress, including how the PGP works and its achievements, and will be making these adjustments.
"There is already a large amount of public reporting on the progress of PGP schemes with a detailed website, quarterly reports, financial audits, regular newsletters, an annual expo and a presence at Fieldays are some examples."
According to Guy, the PGP has shown the primary sector working collaboratively adding value not just to the primary industries, but also to New Zealand's wider economy.
"These programmes have a major part to play in our goal of doubling the value of primary sector exports by 2025," he says.
"It's pleasing to see continuous improvement and learnings from when the PGP was first set up in 2009."
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon says withdrawing from the Paris Agreement on climate change would be “a really dumb move”.
The University of Waikato has broken ground on its new medical school building.
Undoubtedly the doyen of rural culture, always with a wry smile, our favourite ginger ninja, Te Radar, in conjunction with his wife Ruth Spencer, has recently released an enchanting, yet educational read centred around rural New Zealand in one hundred objects.
Farmers are being urged to keep on top of measures to control Cysticerus ovis - or sheep measles - following a spike in infection rates.
For more than 50 years, Waireka Research Station at New Plymouth has been a hub for globally important trials of fungicides, insecticides and herbicides, carried out on 16ha of orderly flat plots hedged for protection against the strong winds that sweep in from New Zealand’s west coast.
There's a special sort of energy at the East Coast Farming Expo, especially when it comes to youth.

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