Bridging the gap with rural New Zealand
OPINION: One thing I keep hearing from rural New Zealanders is the importance of relationships. Strong relationships don’t just happen - they take trust, consistency, and time.
Unvaccinated dairy farmers won't be able to attend in-person events run by DairyNZ.
The industry-good body says it is following the guidance of the Government's Covid protection framework or the 'traffic light system'.
DairyNZ's general manager farm performance, Sharon Morrell, says this means attendees will need to present their My Vaccine pass at DairyNZ run in-person events.
"Since the first lockdown, DairyNZ has also been offering many of our events online, as farmers have told us they like to have a choice whether to attend in person or virtually," Morell told Rural News.
"We will continue to review how we host events over the coming months, should government guidance change.
"Like other event organisers nationwide, our priority is providing a safe environment for those attending, and most farmer feedback we have received, so far, supports this approach."
Morrell says it's important that DairyNZ listens to farmer feedback and provides them with different options to access its services.
"We engage with farmers in a range of ways, including in-person meetings, farm visits, emails, phone calls and video conferencing. We provide information and resources, undertake research to provide farmers with solutions, and provide events."
DairyNZ is developing a new website - its busiest farmer channel.
"We are also focused on making our services more accessible to farmers, for example, we now offer regular podcasts and are shifting to make more use of videos and social media, based on farmer feedback," says Morrell.
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Farmer co-operative LIC has closed its satellite-backed pasture measurement platform – Space.
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Fonterra has announced a record forecast opening organic milk price of $12.30/kgMS for the new season.
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