increase font size
Tim Mackle.
Dairy farmers are being urged to help shape the future of the dairy sector.
DairyNZ chief executive Dr Tim Mackle says a refresh of the sector’s strategy is now on and while he acknowledges this is a busy time for farmers he’s hoping they will make time to give feedback.
They can do it on a purpose-built website, Mackle says, and via Federated Farmers dairy group, Dairy Companies Association of NZ and Dairy Woman’s Network.
He says it’s four years since the present strategy was put in place and a lot has changed since then.
“On the farm it’s been one of the toughest economic challenges in recent memory. Public scrutiny of how we farm has increased -- especially about the environment and animal welfare -- and challenges are greater in recruiting and retaining the best and brightest people in the industry.”
Overseas the milk quota is gone in the EU, consumer aspirations and tastes have changed and consumers are concerned about farm practices including animal welfare. So a refresh of the dairy strategy is timely, Mackle says.
DairyNZ has a big role in developing the strategy but it requires ownership by all the partners. The goal is to complete the strategy by late 2017.
“Our board will consider the implications for DairyNZ and how it can play its part in the strategy,” Mackle says. “Down the track it will influence how levies are [spent].”
The need is rising for NZ to compete globally and it will get tougher, so a good strategy is essential.
OPINION: It's no surprise that "world-class biosecurity" continues to dominate as the top priority for agribusiness leaders, holding the number one spot for the 16th consecutive year in KPMG's latest agribusiness report.
DairyNZ says Waikato farmers need certainty on Plan Change 1, but they say that certainty must be matched with practical, workable rules and a clear transition that doesn't get ahead of the new resource management system currently under review.
OPINION: The dairy sector has been told that it cannot afford to rest on its laurels.
The dairy industry cannot rest on its laurels despite providing one in every four export dollars earned by the country, says DairyNZ chief executive Campbell Parker.
Increased competition for water means the whole community is looking at how irrigators use water.
Oamaru-based livestock handling specialist Te Pari has bought Combi Clamp, the New Zealand manufacturer of Combi Clamp manual sheep handlers.
Agriculture Minister Todd McClay has admitted that a scheme bringing workers from Pacific nations to work on orchards has become too hard to navigate but says changes are coming.
A new app designed in New Zealand aims to help sheep, beef and deer farmers capture, analyse and use body condition score data more effectively.
Canterbury farmer Andy Macfarlane has been appointed to the board of AgriZeroNZ, the public-private partnership designed to accelerate the development and deployment of emissions reduction tools for New Zealand farmers.
For over 50 years Mel Ewers has been supporting the apple sector navigate through compliance and quality assurance issues.
The apple sector is enjoying a bumper harvest season.
