OSPRI introduces movement control area in Central Otago to protect livestock
From 1 October, new livestock movement restrictions will be introduced in parts of Central Otago dealing with infected possums spreading bovine TB to livestock.
OSPRI and the Livestock Improvement Corporation (LIC) are urging farmers to play their part in improving animal traceability at a critical time on farm.
As the management agency for the National Animal Identification and Tracing (NAIT) system, OSPRI has been working closely with LIC to ensure livestock data recorded in its livestock management system MINDA LIVE, is more easily transferable and can be captured real-time in NAIT.
“The recent upgrades mean a seamless transfer of livestock movements between both systems within two hours instead of just once daily," says OSPRI chief executive Steve Stuart.
“Farmers will also now receive an email notification confirming that the information about their livestock and movements has been successfully transferred into NAIT.”
OSPRI is delighted to see farmers are increasing their NAIT engagement with 77% of animals now being registered in the system prior to moving off farm.
“We expect the recent work undertaken between OSPRI and LIC will provide further incentives for farmers to meet their NAIT obligations,” says Stuart.
“The upgrade provides more certainty for farmers registering animals and recording livestock movements in MINDA LIVE and the transfer into NAIT. It also means the data held in NAIT will be more current and accurate and this supports disease management and national biosecurity.”
MINDA is used by over 90% of New Zealand’s dairy farmers, helping inform them on management of herds, individual animals and NAIT obligations.
LIC chief executive Wayne McNee says the latest enhancements regarding NAIT compliance for farmers are part of a two-year “MINDA improvement roadmap” designed with the seasonal needs of farmers in mind to keep improving the MINDA experience.
“This is a further investment by LIC to enable easier and more accurate NAIT compliance for farmers. Farmers are able to make updates to various areas of NAIT recording including calving. These updates will make it clear what NAIT events are being generated and ensure parity between the NAIT and MINDA databases.”
“Our MINDA LIVE and App users can have confidence that all the animal registrations and livestock movements are transferred into NAIT in a timely manner, enabling them to stay on top of their NAIT accounts.”
OSPRI meanwhile is committed to improving the farmer experience with the NAIT system and is working with other third-party and information providers.
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).
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.
OPINION: Sir Lockwood Smith has clearly and succinctly defined what academic freedom is all about, the boundaries around it and the responsibility that goes with this privilege.
OPINION: Should cows in NZ be microchipped?
OPINION: Legislation being drafted to bring back the controversial trade of live animal exports by sea is getting stuck in the…