Taranaki farmer fined $15,000 for illegal NAIT tag swapping
A Taranaki farmer and livestock agent who illegally swapped NAIT tags from cows infected with a bovine disease in an attempt to sell the cows has been fined $15,000.
The Hound hears that a Christchurch ambulance chaser (lawyer) is trying to put together a group action against the livestock firms tied up in a Commerce Commission case over the NAIT scheme.
Your old mate understands the said lawyer is interested in bringing a group representative action to recover a proportion of the fees overcharged to farmers as a result of the unlawful agreements between the firms and parties involved. The case relates to complaints about livestock firms overcharging for ear tags and collection of fees for entry into the NAIT system. The Hound understands an application has already been made to the High Court at Auckland for access to the court's file on the case. Watch this space.
Fonterra’s impending exit from the Australian dairy industry is a major event but the story doesn’t change too much for farmers.
Expect greater collaboration between Massey University’s school of Agriculture and Environment and Ireland’s leading agriculture university, the University College of Dublin (UCD), in the future.
A partnership between Torere Macadamias Ltd and the Riddet Institute aims to unlock value from macadamia nuts while growing the next generation of Māori agribusiness researchers.
A new partnership between Dairy Women’s Network (DWN) and NZAgbiz aims to make evidence-based calf rearing practices accessible to all farm teams.
Despite some trying circumstances recently, the cherry season looks set to emerge on top of things.
Changed logos on shirts otherwise it will be business as usual when Fonterra’s consumer and related businesses are expected to change hands next month.

OPINION: Here w go: the election date is set for November 7 and the politicians are out of the gate…
OPINION: ECan data was released a few days ago showing Canterbury farmers have made “giant strides on environmental performance”.