Top tips for a smooth move

The industry-good body has worked with sector partners to develop a package of resources to support farmers on Moving Day. 

“This remarkable move takes place every year incredibly smoothly, given the size and scale of the activity, thanks to the hard work and tenacity of dairy farmers,” DairyNZ people team manager Jane Muir says. 

“There will be extra challenges this year with Covid-19 and we wanted to help farmers understand what they need to do to meet the health and safety requirements and give advice on planning and working through checklists to successfully move households, animals, people and equipment.”

New Moving Day guidelines and templates are now available on the DairyNZ website, developed by DairyNZ with input from Federated Farmers, Fonterra and FMG.

“At this stage, it looks like New Zealand will be at Covid-19 alert level 2 when Moving Week takes place, but we need everyone to consider all scenarios and we are providing support for this. Being prepared means farmers can proceed with confidence,” says Muir.

“The resources have been designed to be user-friendly and save farmers time and stress.” 

They include guidelines on managing the key elements of the move – covering planning and movement of people, animals and equipment. The guidelines also cover managing contractors and regulatory requirements in the Covid-19 environment. 

“We know many farmers love having templates for key activities they have to carry out, so we have made a number available to help with the move.”

The templates include a Moving Day Planning Document to help plan ahead, and a Moving Day Participation Record (to keep track of who is helping with each move in case Covid-19 tracing is required).

An easy to read Q&A has also been developed covering such things as who can help with Moving Day, which businesses farmers can use for Moving Day and cleaning requirements for houses, dairy sheds and equipment.