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A 1080 poison drop in the Blue Mountains, Otago, has knocked rodent and stoat numbers down to “undetectable levels”, says OSPRI, which runs the TBfree scheme.
OSPRI teamed up with DOC in the Blue Mountains, as part of the Battle for our Birds campaign.
Stoat numbers “fell dramatically: monitoring by tracking tunnels showed stoats at undetectable levels (0%) compared to 38% in November last year prior to the aerial pest kill operation”.
Tracking results also showed rats and mice had dropped to 0% in the treatment area from rates of 10% and 30%, respectively, says Brent Rohloff, OSPRI’s southern South Island programme manager.
The Blue Mountains is a TB risk area, where infected wild animals have been found.
“The Blue Mountains operation shows we have the skills and capability to stamp out TB in wild animals and [support] biodiversity gains,” says Rohloff.
DOC spokeswoman Ros Cole said the TBfree operation was welcomed at a time when DOC was busy with other Battle for our Birds pest control work in the South Island.
Federated Farmers has called on Central Otago District Council (CODC) to drop or vote down a plan to truck sludge from Alexandra and Cromwell to farmland near Lauder, warning it would compound an "outrageous" situation created by a separate council's decision weeks earlier.
Farmers across parts of Southland and South Otago are continuing to deal with difficult conditions after a prolonged run of wet weather, with pressure building around feed supply, stock management, pasture damage, farm infrastructure and everyday workloads.
Rabobank has celebrated the tenth anniversary of its AgPathways Programme, with 23 farmers from Otago and Southland gathering for two-and-a-half days to learn new business management and planning skills.
New Zealand farming history needs to be celebrated, says the New Zealand Century Farm and Station Awards (NZCFSA) national coordinator, Anne Barnett.
Otago Regional Council is set to begin its annual winter farm flyovers in the next three weeks.
The Royal New Zealand College of General Practitioners (the College) and Hauora Taiwhenua Rural Health Network are calling for investment in a proposed new training pathway for rural GPs, warning that many rural practices are struggling to recruit while a large share of the existing workforce nears retirement.
Federated Farmers has called on Central Otago District Council (CODC) to drop or vote down a plan to truck sludge from Alexandra and Cromwell to farmland near Lauder, warning it would compound an "outrageous" situation created by a separate council's decision weeks earlier.
Synlait has swung to second-half profit as operations stabilise, but the dairy processor still posted a $75.4m annual loss.
LIC shareholders have elected a new North Island representative to the co-operative's Board, along with five representatives to its Shareholder Reference Group (SRG), following the company's Annual Meeting held in Invercargill.
Farmers across parts of Southland and South Otago are continuing to deal with difficult conditions after a prolonged run of wet weather, with pressure building around feed supply, stock management, pasture damage, farm infrastructure and everyday workloads.
Federated Farmers says it welcomes Labour's commitment to reviewing the Sharemilking Agreements Act, calling on other major parties to do the same.
