4 Subtil opens farm to critics Vol 16 No 6, February 13, 2017
farmersweekly.co.nz
Threat to dairy Nigel Stirling nigel.g.stirling@gmail.com
N
EW Zealand’s trade relationship with Russia has hit a new low with threats now being made against the dairy industry. The Russian veterinary service Rosselkhoznadzor on February 3 said it intended to ban beef imports from NZ from February 6 and would make a decision on fish imports within a fortnight. The service said the actions were designed to “to ensure the country’s food safety” after traces of listeria and the banned feed additive ractopamine were found in NZ beef shipments. Speaking to Russian media following the announcement the head of the service, Sergey Dankvert, also put dairy in the firing line. “We are warning NZ suppliers: if the findings are repeated we shall also restrict supplies of butter with fat,” Dankvert is reported as saying. The actions against beef and fish were not entirely unexpected after Dankvert in October indicated bans were being considered following the discovery of traces of listeria and mercury in imports from NZ. At the time Dankvert did not mention dairy products. However, the Ministry for Primary Industries this week said it had been notified in December about the detection of “low level” traces of the veterinary medicine
tetracycline in anhydrous milk fat (AMF) imported from NZ. It was understood Russia had notified NZ of at least two more incidents concerning contaminated dairy products in the past two years. The string of notifications by the Russians dumbfounded officials here. In November MPI said the levels of mercury and listeria found in beef and fish through its own testing of the shipments were not enough to breach NZ’s own microbiological and contaminant standards. The latest discovery was just as confounding because tetracycline had not been registered as a veterinary medicine for farmed animals in NZ since 2011. Officials in Wellington as well as at the NZ embassy in Moscow had sought meetings with Russian counterparts for months without success. “We find some of the findings really unusual because the Russians say they are finding substances that are prohibited here. MPI have never found it so why are the Russians finding it?” a Government source said. The source said NZ was eager for veterinary experts from the two countries to meet to get to the bottom of the Russian test results. “We need the technical people to talk to understand whether this is really something or is it some sort of cross-contamination in a Russian lab or is it domestic politics or something else.” As one of the world’s largest
Swiss? Jeez she’s a Kiwi
IN THE BLOOD: Charis Morrell competes in the woolhandling heats at the World Shearing and Woolhandling Championships in Invercargill last Friday.
A NEW generation of wool harvesters has emerged from the champion shearing Morrell family. But 11-year-old Charis Morrell from Alexandra was competing for Switzerland rather than New Zealand at the World Shearing and Woolhandling Championships in Invercargill. Her father Dion has shorn for NZ and runs a shearing contracting business out of Alexandra but at last weekend’s world championships Charis was competing for Switzerland by virtue of the Swiss nationality of her mother Gabriela. Charis started woolhandling only two months ago and last Friday was competing in the heats at the world finals. Stadium Southland was sold out with extra seating erected to cater for the more than 4000 people wanting to watch Saturday night’s finals. More than 300 people from 32 countries entered in the various events.
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