increase font size
Neil Bateup.
The Rural Support Trust will be gearing up as the Mycoplasma bovis eradication plan moves into action, says Neil Bateup, chairman of the Rural Support Trust national council.
“We have been dealing with it up until now,” he told Rural News. “We have been in touch with all affected properties where they are on NODs (notice of direction), RPNs (restricted place notice) or infected properties since the very early stages.
“We are keeping in contact with those people and supporting them and they have a contact person within Rural Support who they talk to.
“Obviously as time goes on there will potentially be more people. We will have to upgrade and we have the resources to be able to do that.”
Government is funding that support, Bateup says.
“They are really on board. We are making sure there is support available for all the affected farmers and we will gear up as we need to.”
The $886 million set aside for the M. bovis plan includes funding for ‘acute farmer support’ for those infected, funding for a rural mental wellness programme and Rural Support Trust funding, a spokesman for Agriculture Minister Damien O’Connor says.
Bateup says gearing up may mean bringing more people in. “The trusts have a number of people who are dealing with general day-to-day issues. So within their teams most of them should be able to provide the extra support needed.”
There may be some upskilling on what the disease is and the effects of the process.
“But generally it is supporting people. Our people have a history of supporting people through all sorts of adverse events and troubled times they have experienced. So this is another adverse event where people will need support and our people are skilled and trained to provide that support.”
The farmers he has spoken to are bearing up.
“I have been working in Waikato with small numbers. Obviously in Southland and Canterbury the numbers are much larger.
“Every individual handles it differently so there is no one-size-fits-all. It is just helping them through the process and how things are going for them. Just having a place for them to go for constant support is pretty important.”
The Rural Support Trust can be contacted on 0800 787 254.
Rural Support Waikato is inviting farmers, growers, and rural communities to take a well-earned break and join us for 'Brunch on Us' - a series of all-sector, relaxed drop-in events across the region.
The strain and pressure of weeks of repairing their flood-damaged properties is starting to tell on farmers and orchardists in the Tasman district.
OPINION: The Rural Support Trust ran a dinner and debate at the National Fieldays last month. In tables of 10, over 540 people were wined and dined, including the Prime Minister, supported by ministers from around the country.
People affected by the recent two severe flood events in the Tasman district are weary and exhausted trying to deal with the devastation on their farms and orchards, according to the head of the Rural Support Trust (RST) in the region.
"The worst of the worst" is how Richard Kempthorne, the chair of the Nelson Tasman Rural Support Trust, describes the cumulative effects of the two storms that have wreaked havoc across the top of the South Island.
Phoebe Scherer, a technical manager from the Bay of Plenty, has won the 2025 Young Grower of the Year national title.
The Fencing Contractors Association of New Zealand (FCANZ) celebrated the best of the best at the 2025 Fencing Industry Awards, providing the opportunity to honour both rising talent and industry stalwarts.
Award-winning boutique cheese company, Cranky Goat Ltd has gone into voluntary liquidation.
As an independent review of the National Pest Management Plan for TB finds the goal of complete eradication by 2055 is still valide, feedback is being sought on how to finish the job.
Beef + Lamb New Zealand has launched an AI-powered digital assistant to help farmers using the B+LNZ Knowledge Hub to create tailored answers and resources for their farming businesses.
A tiny organism from the arid mountains of mainland Greece is facilitating a new way of growing healthier animals on farms across New Zealand.
OPINION: For years, the ironically named Dr Mike Joy has used his position at Victoria University to wage an activist-style…
OPINION: A mate of yours truly has had an absolute gutsful of the activist group SAFE.
