'Sheer arrogance'
OPINION: A reader recently called out the Hound for not giving Federated Farmers enough credit for taking Otago Regional Council to task on its dodgy rule changes.
Southern dairy farmers are being reminded to undertake best practices to safeguard water quality and transport safety when the annual stock Moving Day begins shortly.
Moving Day for stock starts from 1 June and continues for several weeks, a tradition where dairy cow herds and farmers move between farm properties, either by road or more often by stock truck.
Otago Regional Council manager compliance Tami Sargeant says the emphasis is on farmers’ standing their stock the day before moving, and for trucking companies to use the roadside effluent disposal sites.
Sargeant says effluent from stock trucks can put road users and adjacent waterways at risk and asks farmers to stand off their animals, for at least 4 to 12 hours, prior to transporting them.
She says that effluent can get onto roads, become a safety hazard for other drivers, run off into roadside drains, or pollute adjacent waterways.
The ORC and several local authorities now operate nine roadside effluent disposal sites across Otago, with six disposal sites on State Highway 1 between Pukeuri and Clinton, and three on inland highways, at Raes Junction, Brassknocker Rd and Tarras.
Farmers walking their herd along a road should keep them away from roadside drains, and avoid disturbed soil, to stop effluent entering waterways.
Cows should be stood off green feed for at least four hours, but no more than 12 hours, before they are loaded onto trucks, which helps reduce the amount of effluent on trucks.
For welfare reasons, DairyNZ also recommends that a grazed-out paddock or stand-off pad are better options for standing stock, than a concrete surface, as the latter can contribute to tender feet and are not god for stock to lie down on.
Biosecurity Minister Andrew Hoggard says that events over the last few weeks have highlighted the importance of a strong biosecurity system.
In its submission on proposed amendments to the Biosecurity Act, DairyNZ says its levy-paying members invested more than $60 million across the biosecurity system last year, through multiple biosecurity levies across several entities and legislative frameworks to collect this funding.
The Ministry for Primary Industries (MPI) has received 136 submissions on proposed amendments to the Biosecurity Act.
Nick Beeby has been appointed as the new chief executive of the New Zealand Meat Board (NZMB).
Global beef supply will contract this year for the first time since the Covid-19 pandemic, according to Rabobank.
Changes to migrant visa settings announced last month should take a lot of pressure off farmers in the new season, says Federated Farmers immigration spokesman Richard McIntyre.
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