Farming

Millions of dollars’ worth of production is at risk if the government doesn’t allow agricultural machinery operators into New Zealand, Federated Farmers claims. Lobby group Federated Farmers said a survey by Rural Contractors NZ found that 57 contractors urgently needed 206 skilled operators. Driver

Hundreds of thousands of dead animals risk being left uncollected on farms because of a collapse in the price of leather. Farmers have been told they will have to pay to have the corpses collected, but don’t want to do that. The Ministry for Primary Industries is trying to negotiate a compromise. Fo

Farmers are invited to attend Alliance Group’s 2020 Annual Roadshows over September and October. Twenty-three meetings will be held across the country, starting out in Omihi on 22 September and finishing in Cromwell on 20 October. Alliance Group chief executive David Surveyor said the roadshow is an

Fonterra no longer has to accept milk as a matter of course from anyone wanting to get into dairy farming. Legislation has just been passed in Parliament amending the 20-year-old Dairy Industry Restructuring Act. It was put in place when Fonterra was formed to overcome issues around a monopoly. The

Today marks three years since the cattle disease Mycoplasma bovis was detected in New Zealand. Government figures show to date, 250 properties have been infected by the disease. Most of the farms have now been cleared, with just four classed as actively infected. On 22 July 2017 Mycoplasma bovis was

Mud on roads is a potential hazard Southland motorists need to be aware of. Southland District Council roading contract manager Shaun Holland advised extra care should be taken when driving during winter as ice and mud on the roads could make conditions extremely slippery. He urged farmers to be con

Deputy Prime Minister Winston Peters was in Bluff today announcing an $8 million loan from the Provincial Growth Fund for a new salmon hatchery for Sanford Limited. The Recirculating Aquaculture System (RAS) hatchery will be built in the Bluff area.  It will be designed to produce six million Chinoo

Alliance Group is to invest $3.2 million to further upgrade its Lorneville plant near Invercargill as it seeks to improve the operational efficiency of the co-operative’s largest site. The plant’s Engine Room Two provides key refrigeration for four cold stores, some blast freezers and several produc