Bikinis in cowshed
OPINION: An animal activist organisation is calling for an investigation into the use of dairy cows in sexuallly explicit content posted on social media and adult entertainment subscription site OnlyFans.
37 farms have been confirmed as infected with Mycoplasma bovis by the Ministry for Primary Industries — eight in the North Island and 29 in the South.
Twenty-one are beef farms, 14 dairy and two are “others.” Including those infected farms, 58 are now listed as ‘restricted places’.
Notices of direction (NOD), which restrict some movement of stock from farms and are usually applied to farms where test results are pending, are in place on 190 properties.
A Biosecurity NZ map of the M. bovis spread indicates that only the Bay of Plenty and Marlborough remain free of the disease, with neither RP notices nor NODs in force.
Taranaki and the South Island West Coast have farms under NODs but as yet no confirmed infection. MPI says 70 - 80% of NODs do not go on to prove infected.
Meanwhile, MPI says eradication continues, with 30 farms now cleaned and depopulated and free to resume operation with new stock.
Simple steps
MPI is calling on farmers to adopt robust biosecurity practices. Simple steps farmers can take include:
- carefully consider the disease status of new stock before animals are bought or moved
- ensure visitors clean and disinfect their equipment, clothing and footwear on arrival at a farm
- make boundary fences secure and prevent nose-to-nose contact with neighbouring stock
- give young calves special protection, allowing only essential people into the calf shed.
Like many manufacturers around the world, European agricultural machinery and tractor manufacturers are currently operating in a difficult market environment. But they are heading to the world’s largest agricultural machinery event in Hanover next month with a degree of cautious optimism.
Established in 2021, the John Deere Technician of the Year Awards champion the important contribution parts and service technicians make to the Australian and New Zealand agriculture, construction and forestry industries.
Beef + Lamb New Zealand (B+LNZ) is calling on farmers from all regions to take part in the final season of the Sheep Poo Study aiming to build a clearer picture of how facial eczema (FE) affects farms across New Zealand.
New Zealand is closer to eradicating bovine TB than ever before, but possums remain a threat, says Beef + Lamb New Zealand.
Foreign Affairs Minister Winston Peters has joined the debate around the proposed sale of Fonterra’s consumer and related businesses, demanding answers from the co-operative around its milk supply deal with the buyer, Lactalis.
The ACT Party says media reports that global dairy giant Nestle has withdrawn from the Dairy Methane Action Alliance shows why New Zealand needs to rethink its approach to climate.