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Dr Tim Mackle.
Some skilled migrant dairy farm employees will now be able to return to New Zealand from overseas.
The decision announced this week by the Government has been welcomed by DairyNZ.
“This is a real breakthrough for migrants who meet the criteria and gives their farm employers certainty to plan for the future,” said DairyNZ chief executive, Dr Tim Mackle.
Visa holders and their families will follow all border control processes and go into quarantine or managed isolation, before re-joining their communities in New Zealand.
DairyNZ says it has been working with the Government since the beginning of the COVID-19 lockdown. The Government originally provided a six-month extension on employer-assisted temporary work visas due to expire by the end of 2020.
Mackle is strongly advising migrants and their employers understand the rules and confirm if they meet the exemption criteria before submitting applications.
“We don’t want to see additional stress, costs and disappointment for this group of patient people,” says Mackle.
DairyNZ says some migrants and their employers will not meet the criteria to come back to New Zealand.
“I am sure they will be disappointed and we thank them for the contribution they have made to our dairy sector,” says Mackle.
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As an independent review of the National Pest Management Plan for TB finds the goal of complete eradication by 2055 is still valide, feedback is being sought on how to finish the job.
DairyNZ has pulled together tactics that will help farmers improve on-farm efficiency and have positive benefits for the environment. These tactics are based on research, data, and lessons from leading farmers.
The design and construction of an effective dairy effluent system is a complex process.
After serving three as a DairyNZ director, Waikato farmer Chris Lewis is ready for another term.
NZPork has appointed Auckland-based Paul Bucknell as its new chair.
The Government claims to have delivered on its election promise to protect productive farmland from emissions trading scheme (ETS) but red meat farmers aren’t happy.
Foot and Mouth Disease outbreaks could have a detrimental impact on any country's rural sector, as seen in the United Kingdom's 2000 outbreak that saw the compulsory slaughter of over six million animals.
The Ministry for the Environment is joining as a national award sponsor in the Ballance Farm Environment Awards (BFEA from next year).
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