MEKA WHO?
MACHINERY & PRODUCTS
Meet the new Associate Agriculture Minister.
Tractor sales on the up.
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MANAGEMENT Managing the volatile climate. PAGE 27
TO ALL FARMERS, FOR ALL FARMERS FEBRUARY 20, 2018: ISSUE 647
www.ruralnews.co.nz
Minister blasts NAIT PETER BURKE
AGRICULTURE MINISTER Damien O’Connor says NAIT clearly hasn’t worked as it should have. His comments come as the deepening crisis over the spread of Mycoplasma bovis causes problems not only for dairy farmers, but also sharemilkers, winter grazers and others in the dairy and beef sectors. O’Connor told Rural News that NAIT has not been enforced as it should have been. He says clearly animal identification and traceability is at the core of any good biosecurity system. “It’s hard to blame individual farmers given the lack of clear direction from industry leaders and organisations. This system is essential for New Zealand as a food producing nation into the future.” O’Connor says it’s “almost a crisis”
because M.bovis is a significant disease NZ does not want nationwide. The focus has been on identifying the spread and containment of the disease, then its eradication. O’Connor has met with many winter dairy grazers and sharemilkers, and sympathises with their dilemma caused by the spread of M.bovis. He hopes the results of bulk milk testing will be available soon.
PSA busters win prize A team of Plant and Food scientists who saved the kiwifruit industry from the ravages of PSA has won the prestigious Prime Minister’s Science Prize. It was presented by Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern to Dr Bruce Campbell, who led a 100-strong multi-disciplinary team from the CRI to control PSA and then develop a new resistant strain of kiwifruit. The $500,000 prize was presented at Parliament last week before a large crowd from the science community and industry representatives. Ardern praised the team, saying the country appreciates the work of scientists in New Zealand. – See more page 7
But some people are saying this will be too late for many. O’Connor has seen a draft report on M.bovis, due to be made public in a couple of weeks, which he says identifies a number of issues. “These range from problems right at the top, down to what happens in the yards on the farm.” He says improvements are needed in all areas. He rejects claims that it is taking
time to sort out problems in a system that started running five years ago. “There’s been plenty of time to run a good system. It’s glaringly obvious that adherence to NAIT and a functioning animal identification and traceability system is a given for farmers.” O’Connor says changes will be made, education given and there will be clear signals that non-compliance with NAIT will not be tolerated.
NOTHING TO SEE HERE SUDESH KISSUN sudeshk@ruralnews.co.nz
FONTERRA CHAIRMAN John Wilson claims the co-op’s overall strategy in China is “working very well”. China is Fonterra’s largest market, accounting for nearly $4 billion of sales last financial year; normalised earnings exceeded $200 million. But Wilson admits the co-op’s joint venture with dairy company Beingmate is a “significant frustration and concern” for everyone. Speaking to farmers at a recent Northland Dairy Development Trust conference in Whangarei, Wilson said Beingmate’s performance will be discussed with farmer shareholders after the release of its interim results next month. “Rightfully, we should expect individual parts of our integrated China strategy to deliver returns to farmers. But it’s important that we measure the success of our China business against the entire integrated strategy over the medium term. “There will be bumps on the road from time to time; I don’t like it all but there will be,” he conceded. “That integrated strategy has helped China become our largest global market, accounting for just under $4b sales revenue which contributed to the milk price and delivered a normalised earnings contribution last year greater than $200m. TO PAGE 3
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