The farmers' scientist will be sorely missed
OPINION: Few people have any idea of the huge contribution Jock Allison made to agriculture and to science.
Noted animal geneticist Dr Jock Allison is full of praise for the initiative to build a larger sheep milking industry.
He says the move has come late given that East Friesian sheep (the main milking breed) have been out of quarantine for nearly 20 years. The other milking breed, Awassi, is still held tightly by Saudi interests, he says. Another breed, the French Lacaune, could possibly be imported.
“Sheep milk is a totally different product: it’s not as tough on the environment and we can have systems just as profitable as dairy because of the high level of milk production. Sheep cause less pugging of the land and their effluent is not as great as a dairy cow’s.”
An economic unit of sheep milkers would be about 600 ewes. They must be fed well, like cows, to obtain good milk yields.
“It’s fantastic to have a group at Massey wanting to get involved in research,” he told Rural News. “Looking around at places such as Lake Taupo where they are restricting nitrogen runoff, sheep dairying could be a major opportunity.
“We now have dairying in the Mackenzie Country; sheep milking would fit in there quite well.”
Key Points
An independent report, prepared for Alliance farmer shareholders is backing the proposed $250 million joint venture investment by Irish company Dawn Meats Group.
Whangarei field service technician, Bryce Dickson has cemented his place in John Deere’s history, becoming the first ever person to win an award for the third time at the annual Australian and New Zealand Technician of the Year Awards, announced at a gala dinner in Brisbane last night.
NZPork has appointed Auckland-based Paul Bucknell as its new chair.
The Government claims to have delivered on its election promise to protect productive farmland from emissions trading scheme (ETS) but red meat farmers aren’t happy.
Foot and Mouth Disease outbreaks could have a detrimental impact on any country's rural sector, as seen in the United Kingdom's 2000 outbreak that saw the compulsory slaughter of over six million animals.
The Ministry for the Environment is joining as a national award sponsor in the Ballance Farm Environment Awards (BFEA from next year).
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