Feeding maize silage in winter: Setting the herd up for success
As I write this article, we have just had our first frost in the Waikato, a change in weather signalling that winter is upon us.
SILAGE WRAP recycling is gaining pace, says Plasback, which recently achieved 3000 tonnes and expects to add 1000 tonne to its total this year.
Manager Chris Hartshorne says the scheme, in its eighth year, is attracting more farmers.
“The year we set up the scheme we collected just nine tonnes of waste plastic wrap. Over the past four years the rate of collection has increased steadily. We have now collected 3000 tonnes, and we expect to collect 1000 tonnes in the next year alone.
“Recycling is not a flash-in-the-pan fad…. We have a network of professional contractors to collect silage wrap and a range of other plastic waste from farms, and we are looking at acquiring more balers to handle our increased volumes.”
Hartshorne says Agrecovery quitting farm plastic recycling recently will not reduce the national quantity collected, but should instead raise efficiency.
“There was some brand confusion in the market with two companies offering identical services. We have the capacity to handle all the farmers who were using Agrecovery. In fact, as our scheme grows, it becomes more effective because our collectors can make more frequent pickups.”
Plasback liners are now in all rural stores that formerly sold Agrecovery liners.
Environment Canterbury’s January 1-onwards ban on burning polyethylene silage and bale wrap – backed by a fine of $300 for a first offence and up to $1050 for repeat offences – comes with encouragement to recycle instead.
EC has moved early to ban burning, but other regional councils have bans pending and others are researching waste volumes on farms, Hartshorne says.
Voluntary, user-pays recycling is more effective than government mandated systems based on levies, he says. “We know voluntary recycling programmes, such as Plasback, are cheaper to run and more effective than systems that apply a levy to the cost of the product.”
www.plasback.co.nz
Newly elected Federated Farmers meat and wool group chair Richard Dawkins says he will continue the great work done his predecessor Toby Williams.
Hosted by ginger dynamo Te Radar, the Fieldays Innovation Award Winners Event put the spotlight on the agricultural industry's most promising ideas.
According to DairyNZ's latest Econ Tracker update, there has been a rise in the forecast breakeven milk price for the 2025/26 season.
Despite the rain and a liberal coating of mud, engines roared, and the 50th Fieldays Tractor Pull Competition drew crowds of spectators across the four days of the annual event.
Nationwide rural wellbeing programme, Farmstrong recently celebrated its tenth birthday at Fieldays with an event attended by ambassador Sam Whitelock, Farmers Mutual Group (FMG), Farmstrong partners, and government Ministers.
Six industry organisations, including DairyNZ and the Dairy Companies Association (DCANZ) have signed an agreement with the Ministry for Primary Industries (MPI) to prepare the country for a potential foot and mouth outbreak.
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