Cuddling cows
OPINION: Years of floods and low food prices have driven a dairy farm in England's northeast to stop milking its cows and instead charge visitors to cuddle them.
OPINION: The late Sir Rob Muldoon once famously quipped that the plane loads of Kiwis jumping the ditch to live in Australia "raised the IQ of both countries".
The 'brain drain' to Aus continues, with a net migration loss of 27,000 people from NZ to Australia in 2023, says Stats NZ.
Curious to see if the grass is greener for dairy farmers considering the lucky country, an Aussie analyst found that, on average 'VIC/TAS irrigated' farmland cost AU$26,250/ha versus 'NZ Irrigated' at AU$48,000; wintering costs in Tasmania are $27/cow/week versus $40/cow/week in NZ; and NZ has more 'red tape'.
On the flip side, NZ's cost of production is lower and Aus has both stamp duty & capital gains tax.
His summary: "farming is bloody tough anywhere!"
Managing director of Woolover Ltd, David Brown, has put a lot of effort into verifying what seems intuitive, that keeping newborn stock's core temperature stable pays dividends by helping them realise their full genetic potential.
Within the next 10 years, New Zealand agriculture will need to manage its largest-ever intergenerational transfer of wealth, conservatively valued at $150 billion in farming assets.
Boutique Waikato cheese producer Meyer Cheese is investing in a new $3.5 million facility, designed to boost capacity and enhance the company's sustainability credentials.
OPINION: The Government's decision to rule out changes to Fringe Benefit Tax (FBT) that would cost every farmer thousands of dollars annually, is sensible.
Compensation assistance for farmers impacted by Mycoplama bovis is being wound up.
Selecting the reverse gear quicker than a lovestruck boyfriend who has met the in-laws for the first time, the Coalition Government has confirmed that the proposal to amend Fringe Benefit Tax (FBT) charged against farm utes has been canned.
OPINION: Years of floods and low food prices have driven a dairy farm in England's northeast to stop milking its…
OPINION: An animal activist organisation is calling for an investigation into the use of dairy cows in sexuallly explicit content…