DairyNZ: Strong payouts offset high farm costs
The dairy sector is in a relatively stable position, with strong milk price payout forecasts continuing to offset ongoing high farm costs, according to DairyNZ.
OPINION: Submissions on the Government's contentious Gene Technology Bill have closed.
However, the furore surrounding the proposal to end New Zealand's near 30-year ban on gene technology outside the lab isn't going away. There's opposition from within the Government's traditional support base - farmers and growers.
Gene technology isn't all bad of course. It's seen as being able to deliver enormous benefits, including access to better cancer treatments, and increased productivity for farmers through such things as disease-resistant and drought-resistant grasses, and tools to help meet emissions targets. The bill is seen by many as a major milestone in modernising our laws to unlock the potential of science.
There's support for the intent of the bill from dairy and sheep and beef farmers. However, some farmers are worried about the trade and market access risk.
DairyNZ points out that there is a well-established system and practices used for production of high-grade seed crops, which provide a working example of co-existence in practice.
Beef+Lamb NZ says that there are potential opportunities to improve farmers' productivity and environmental impacts. However, it says there are also several potential risks that still need to be addressed in the proposed legislation. These include potential market or trade implications, traceability and co-existence, and how risks are classified.
State-owned AgResearch supports the bull and says it provides the opportunity to align NZ's activities and regulations with those of our major trading partners such as the US, Australia, China, and potentially the EU.
But there's opposition from organic farmers who claim the bill is a threat to organic and conventional farmers, makes GMO-free certification impossible and places financial risks on farmers, not biotech companies. They also claim that deregulation of GE products could remove mandatory labelling, leaving consumers unaware of what's in their food, and economic and trade risks for New Zealand's $1 billion organic industry.
The Government remains committed. Gene technology is a powerful tool that has the potential to deliver enormous benefits for New Zealand, it says. They may have the numbers to pass the bill, but should not ignore the views of those who don't want it enacted.
A US-based company developing a vaccine to reduce methane emissions in cattle has received another capital injection from New Zealand’s agriculture sector.
Wools of New Zealand has signed a partnership agreement with a leading Chinese manufacturer as the company looks to further grow demand in China and globally.
Opportunities for Māori are there for the taking if they scale up their operations and work more closely together.
OPINION: Farmer shareholders of two of New Zealand's largest co-operatives have an important decision to make this month and what they decide could change the landscape of the dairy and meat sectors in New Zealand.
As the first of a new series of interprofessional rural training hubs opened in South Taranaki late September, Rural Health Network has celebrated the move as a "key pathway to encourage the growth and retention of health professionals in rural areas".
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