RMA amendments 'will be a relief to farmers'
The Government’s announcement that a Bill to amend the Resource Management Act (RMA) could be introduced in Parliament next month will be a relief to farmers, says Beef + Lamb New Zealand (B+LNZ).
DairyNZ are ‘working through’ the cost-sharing process for the industry share of eradicating Mycoplasma bovis, says BLNZ general manager policy and advocacy Dave Harrison.
“To come up with a fair approach we have been making use of an independent panel,” he told Rural News in a joint statement from both industry-good bodies.
“We have had initial advice and are providing feedback. Once the process has finalised, a recommendation will go to our respective boards and be shared with farmers.
“Given this is a sensitive and important process, we can’t comment on the specifics until it has been agreed and approved by our respective boards.”
The cost of the eradication programme is reckoned at $886 million over 10 years.
The Government will pay 68% of that and the two levying bodies, DairyNZ and BLNZ, will pay 32% (about $278m).
But just exactly how it will be split between them remains under discussion. Earlier this year dairy industry sources said an 80/20 split between dairy farmers and beef farmers would be fair. However, beef farmers were pushing for a 90/10 split, pointing out that dairy farms are at the centre of the outbreak.
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.
Two major red meat sector projects are getting up to a combined $1.7 million in funding from the New Zealand Meat Board (NZMB).
Angus Barr and Tara Dwyer of The Wandle, Lone Star Farms in Strath Taieri have been named the Regional Supreme Winners at the Otago Ballance Farm Environment Awards in Dunedin.
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