DairyNZ and Beef + Lamb NZ wrap up M. bovis compensation support after $161M in claims
Compensation assistance for farmers impacted by Mycoplama bovis is being wound up.
The head of BiosecurityNZ (MPI’s group dealing with Mycoplasma bovis), Roger Smith, says its job is to make NAIT easy so that farmers will comply with it.
NAIT has been widely criticised, notably by Federated Farmers vice-president Andrew Hoggard, who says the system is clunky and doesn’t interface with his own database which contains all the information NAIT needs.
Smith says MPI will change this because if a regulation is too hard to comply with people may not comply.
“I understand that when a farmer comes in at 11pm after a hard day on the farm and must then sit down at a laptop and enter NAIT data this can be frustrating and probably not ideal.”
Time spent unnecessarily in an office typing in numbers affects productivity; a system is needed that works well for everyone, Smith says.
The first task is to act on the review of NAIT by getting a better system up and running in the short term; they also need to better educate farmers about the reasons for NAIT.
“Then we must step back and look at NAIT and what it might be like in the next five to ten years. The technology is changing: there are better internet connections and wand readers.
“We must look at technology solutions and make it easier.”
NAIT needs redesigning so that one set of data can shared across a number of systems, Smith says.
A steady stream of farmers visited MPI’s Fieldays site seeking information about M.bovis. They wanted to know more about the disease and were stepping up their efforts to improve their farm biosecurity.
“Our job is to help and advise them to run a biosecurity system that protects their farm.”
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).
Kiwis are wasting less of their food than they were two years ago, and this has been enough to push New Zealand’s total household food waste bill lower, the 2025 Rabobank KiwiHarvest Food Waste survey has found.
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DairyNZ says its plantain programme continues to deliver promising results, with new data confirming that modest levels of plantain in pastures reduce nitrogen leaching, offering farmers a practical, science-backed tool to meet environmental goals.
According to the most recent Rabobank Rural Confidence Survey, farmer confidence has inched higher, reaching its second highest reading in the last decade.
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