Sunday, 24 January 2016 06:55

Smile – you’re on camera!

Written by  Peter Burke
Andrew Hoggard. Andrew Hoggard.

The advent of closed circuit television is now making it easier for farmers to protect themselves from 'industrial sabotage', according to an industry leader.

Federated Farmers dairy chairman Andrew Hoggard's comments follow a recent incident in Manawatu where a dairy farm worker was prosecuted for deliberately contaminating 18,000L of milk worth nearly $11,000, stored in a vat.

Hoggard says such vandalism is not unusual and he is unsure whether the problem is getting worse. The incident in Manawatu coincides with claims by the Council of Trade Unions that some farm workers are poorly paid and have poor working conditions.

Hoggard says farmers are particularly vulnerable because they have to leave their sheds open for the tankers. Now he is seeing more farmers using CCTV at their vats and cowsheds.

"A CCTV camera can be bought for about $120. This can have a motion-sensor built in which sends an email to the farmer so he can find out what's going on. There are cheap technology options available for farmers to keep an eye on their farms."

Hoggard says farmers normally carry insurance to cover any loss of milk because of power cuts or other incidents. The latest case, where the farm worker is paying back the farmer $20 a week in reparation, is an insult to the farmer in question.

Many of the problems farmers face are out on their properties, he says.

"Most farmers would have a story about some illegal [growing] activities taking place on their farms. There is always a risk in harvesting maize too early," Hoggard adds. "Farmers face the dilemma of reporting such activities. If they report them, strange things start happening around their farms."

Hoggard has discovered people have been on his farm at night drinking beer and spirits at the end of a road by the river.

"Often you wonder what sort of strange people go and park up in the middle of the night and drink themselves silly. Weird stuff like that happens," he says.

More like this

A significant fertiliser breakthrough?

Former ACT MP and Federated Farmers president Owen Jennings believes he's come across a new fertilising method in Australia that yields "outstanding results".

Marlborough drought declaration welcomed

Marlborough Federated Farmers has got some real concern about the mental wellbeing of farmers and their families in the region because of the drought and there’s a lot of pressure starting to build.

SNAs will go - eventually

Despite some earlier confusion around the exact timing, the new Government is moving to reform the way local bodies implement Significant Natural Areas (SNAs) rules on farmland.

Featured

Sheep drench resistance costly

Analysis by Dunedin-based Techion New Zealand shows the cost of undetected drench resistance in sheep has exploded to an estimated $98 million a year.

Dairy sheep and goat turmoil

Dairy sheep and goat farmers are being told to reduce milk supply as processors face a slump in global demand for their products.

Hurry up and slow down!

OPINION: We have good friends from way back who had lived in one of our major cities for many years.

National

Knowing bugs means fewer drugs

A mastitis management company claims to deliver the fastest and most accurate mastitis testing available at scale for New Zealand…

Machinery & Products

AGTEK and ARGO part ways

After 12 years of representing the Landini and McCormick brands in New Zealand, Bay of Plenty-based AGTEK and the brands’…

100 years of Farmall Tractors

Returning after an enforced break, the Wheat and Wheels Rally will take place on the Lauriston -Barhill Road, North-East of…

JD unveils its latest beast

John Deere has unveiled its most powerful tractor ever, with the launch of the all new 9RX Series Tractor line-up…

Biggest Quadtrac coming to NZ!

In the biggest announcement that Case IH Australia/New Zealand has made around its tractor range, its biggest tractor is about…

» Latest Print Issues Online

The Hound

Why?

OPINION: A mate of yours truly wants to know why the beef schedule differential is now more than 45-50 cents…

Fat to cut

OPINION: Your canine crusader understands that MPI were recently in front of the Parliamentary Primary Sector Select Committee for an…

» Connect with Rural News

» eNewsletter

Subscribe to our weekly newsletter