Editorial: Cutting red tape
OPINION: One of the world’s largest animal health and nutrition companies, DSM, now known as dsm-firmenich, has developed a feed additive Bovaer to lower methane emissions from cows.
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.
A verbal stoush has broken out between Federated Farmers and a new group that claims to be fighting against cheaper imports that undermine NZ farmers.
According to the latest ANZ Agri Focus report, energy-intensive and domestically-focused sectors currently bear the brunt of rising fuel, fertiliser and freight costs.
Having gone through a troublesome “divorce” from its association and part ownership of AGCO, Indian manufacturer TAFE is said to be determined to be seen as a modern business rather than just another tractor maker from the developing world.
Two long-standing New Zealand agricultural businesses are coming together to strengthen innovation, local manufacturing capability, and access to essential farm inputs for farmers across the country.
A new farmer-led programme aimed at bringing young people into dairy farming is under way in Waikato and Bay of Plenty.
The Government has announced changes to stock exclusion regulations which it claims will cut unnecessary costs and inflexible rules while maintaining environmental protections.