Overseas competitors approve feed additive
Authorities in both the United Kingdom and Canada have now approved the use of methane-reducing feed additive Bovaer.
Global animal health company DSM says it has a product that can help reduce emissions from cows by up to 30% but surprisingly the Government is not keen.
Agriculture Minister Damien O’Connor says the product “needs to be fed with every mouthful of feed so there’s no guarantee we can use it in NZ farming systems”.
But DSM says that’s false. It blames MPI for feeding the wrong information to the minister.
Milking It also believes DSM had been trying to contact him directly for a year or so to brief him on the product, called 3-NOP.
Someone is well behind the eight ball on this.
The Climate Change Commission wants the new Government to reduce NZ Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS) auction volumes as son as possible.
Southland-based Mataura Valley Milk can now lay claim to be the first all-electric dairy factory in New Zealand.
Dairy sheep and goat farmers are being told to reduce milk supply as processors face a slump in global demand for their products.
Meat co-operative Alliance Group has bagged four gold medals at the Outstanding NZ Food Producer Awards, achieving top honours for every cut entered.
There is increasing evidence that dairy demand is on the upswing, according to Rabobank senior agricultural analyst Emma Higgins.
Fertiliser use in New Zealand over the 18 months is about 25% down from what it consistently was for the previous decade or more, says Ravensdown chief operating officer Mike Whitty.
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