Finally, a deal is here
News that NZ and the UK have agreed 'in principle' to the terms of the free trade agreement (FTA) will come as welcome news to the dairy sector.
UK farmers are urging their Government to implement its 25-year TB eradication strategy immediately and in full to ensure farmer support for it remains strong.
NFU president Meurig Raymond says farmers support the strategy but are frustrated at the lack of action to introduce its various elements.
“The farming industry needs to see more urgency in the implementation of the whole strategy and better communication of its measures and aims. Now is the time to build on the determination of the farming industry to eradicate this disease which is destroying farming businesses and families.”
Raymond says different elements of the strategy are urgently needed in different parts of the country and needed to be introduced as a matter of urgency.
“We need appropriate and proportionate measures to keep the disease out of the low risk area of England.
“We need more targeted measures to stop the spread in the edge area (between the high and low risk areas). In particular we need better information on the local infection rate in wildlife in this area.
“And we need further pilot culls in the high risk area. Farmers are committed to playing their part in this but need to see that commitment reciprocated by the Government.”
Statistics released by the UK Government in April show the provisional incidence rate for January 2015 was 3.9% compared to 4.5% for January 2014.
However, it states that care needs to be taken not to read too much into short term figures, especially as this figure includes a number of unclassified incidents.
The number of new herd incidents in January 2015 was 494 compared to 534 in January 2014.
The number of cattle compulsorily slaughtered in January 2015 was 2977 vs 2923 in January 2014.
Federated Farmers president Wayne Langford is claiming “some real success” on the 12 policy priorities it placed before the Coalition Government.
Federated Farmers is throwing its support behind the Fast-track Approvals Bill introduced by the Coalition Government to enable a fast-track decision-making process for infrastructure and development projects.
The latest report from ANZ isn’t good news for sheep farmers: lamb returns are forecast to remain low.
Divine table grapes that herald the start of a brand-new industry in Hawke’s Bay have been coming off vines in Maraekakaho.
In what appears to be a casualty of the downturn in the agricultural sector, a well-known machinery brand is now in the hands of liquidators and owing creditors $6.6 million.
One of New Zealand’s deepest breeder Jersey herds – known for its enduring connection through cattle with the UK’s longest reigning monarch, Queen Elizabeth II – will host its 75th anniversary celebration sale on-farm on April 22.