DairyNZ project wins national award
A project reducing strains and sprains on farm has won the Innovation category in the New Zealand Workplace Health and Safety Awards 2025.
A nationwide shortage of zinc – the preferred treatment for facial eczema -- is causing concern to dairy farmers in the North Island, especially in Waikato.
DairyNZ general manager extension Andrew Reid says the wet warm weather in Waikato and potentially in Taranaki and the Lower North Island has seen FE spore counts rise. Farmers are being urged to monitor this closely.
Reid says if farmers can’t get zinc they should talk to their vets about alternative products and check the effectiveness of such products.
Last season FE seriously hampered dairy and sheep and beef farmers.
The other area of concern, says Reid, is the West Coast of the South Island.
“They still have ongoing wet; there's no significant relief from the rain. Farmers have a watching brief from a wellness perspective, and they are frustrated at not being able to get on pastures because of the wet."
He notes that Northland and Hawkes Bay have been dry, but elsewhere farmers are poised for a reasonable autumn and are generally optimistic.
The country's second largest milk processor hopes to produce its first commercial butter within two months.
There's no doubt that vehicle manufacturers at Fieldays saw a steady stream of rural folk treading the boards.
Fonterra's co-op model and what it does for New Zealand has lured one of its bright stars back on board.
Farmer lobby Federated Farmers is reporting a growth in membership, for the first time in decades.
New Zealand's Ruminant Biotech says that while it has big goals, the scale of the problem it seeks to solve requires it.
The upheaval in the Middle East may have eased the fall in global dairy prices last week.
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