MOU a significant milestone
The signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) between Lincoln University and Ballance Agri-Nutrients is being hailed as a significant milestone.
Lincoln University PhD student Christina Berneheim is inviting farmers to complete an online questionnaire to express their views on the industry.
"As part of my research, I am sending out a survey which allows dairy farmers to express their views on the future of the dairy industry and on what they think needs to be improved (if anything) and how," she says.
"The results will be made publicly available in the hope of lifting the issues that are important to them. The online questionnaire takes about 10-15 minutes to complete and it's all anonymous."
The survey is built on the thoughts and concerns of 30 dairy farmers who were interviewed across the country earlier this year.
The interviewed dairy farmers’ management practices ranged from high to low input, conventional to biological to organic in both modern and traditional dairy farming regions. “I was thus aiming to look at the whole spectrum of adaptations to different future outlooks.”
The research titled “Understanding dairy farming decision-making” aims to understand how dairy farmers change their farming system in response to different trends and stresses, such as regulation, value-add and low cash-flow.
Ultimately, the aspiration is to work towards connecting farmers who have made changes that increase profitability with other interested farmers, and create a platform where information on the benefits and challenges of these transitions to more sustainable systems is easily accessible. The more dairy farmers that take the survey, the more information will be available to perhaps influence industry and policy-makers.
The country’s 4200 commercial fruit and vegetable growers will vote from May 14 on a new HortNZ levy.
Meat processor Alliance Group is asking farmer shareholders to inject more capital in order to remain a 100% co-operative.
A vet is calling for all animals to be vaccinated against a new strain of leptospirosis (lepto) discovered on New Zealand dairy farms in recent years.
Dairy
Rural banker Rabobank is partnering with Food Rescue Kitchen on a new TV series which airs this weekend that aims to shine a light on the real and growing issues of food waste, food poverty and social isolation in New Zealand.
Telco infrastructure provider Chorus says that it believes all Kiwis – particularly those in the rural areas – need access to high-speed, reliable broadband.
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