Unreal hot air
OPINION: The Hound is perplexed about some of the over-the-top climate catastrophising by mainstream media outlets during the holidays.
Waikato Regional Council staff are available to provide dairy farmers on the flood-affected Coromandel Peninsula with advice on the safe disposal of milk supplies.
Some roads on the Coromandel are either closed or restricted as a result of heavy rain in recent days, which has made it difficult for dairy supply companies to pick up milk from some farmers.
“We know storage capacity is going to be an issue for some farmers, and disposing of waste milk can be a problem for them,” says the council’s farming services team leader, Stuart Stone.
“Discharging or dumping of milk into a waterway has a massive effect on watercourses, a thousand times more drastic than farm dairy shed effluent. Any discharge of milk will deplete oxygen and kill all river and stream life, such as trout, eels, insects, koura and vegetation,” Stone says.
“But there are a number of safer emergency disposal options available to farmers, and these can be discussed with their dairy companies or our staff,” he says.
The council’s farming services team is on standby to provide advice to farmers on emergency milk disposal options – call our 24-hour freephone on 0800 800 401.
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.