Strange bedfellows
OPINION: Two types of grifters have used the sale of Fonterra's consumer brands as a platform to push their own agendas - under the guise of 'caring about the country'.
OPINION: Greenpeace boss and former Green Party leader Russell Norman claims there are about ten million beef and dairy cattle in New Zealand and that each one produces the same faecal load as about 14 people.
So, that's equivalent to 140 million people. 'It's just too much faeces and urine for the rivers, lakes and groundwater to handle,' Rusty laments.
However, as one Twitter user pointed out: the daily output of E. coli from a human is estimated at more than 11,000 more than that of a cow.
Also, dairy cattle are fenced from waterways and most of their effluent goes back on pasture.
Something for Russell to ponder!
Federated Farmers says almost 2000 farmers have signed a petition launched this month to urge the Government to step in and provide certainty while the badly broken resource consent system is fixed.
Zespri’s counter-seasonal Zespri Global Supply (ZGS) programme is underway with approximately 33 million trays, or 118,800 tonnes, expected this year from orchards throughout France, Italy, Greece, Korea, and Japan.
Animal owners can help protect life-saving antibiotics from resistant bacteria by keeping their animals healthy, says the New Zealand Veterinary Association.
According to analysis by the Meat Industry Association (MIA), New Zealand red meat exports reached $827 million in October, a 27% increase on the same period last year.
The black and white coat of Holstein- Friesian cows is globally recognised as a symbol of dairy farming and a defining trait of domestic cattle. But until recently, scientists didn’t know which genes were responsible for the Holstein’s spots.
According to the New Zealand Dairy Statistics 2024/25 report, New Zealand dairy farmers are achieving more with fewer cows.
OPINION: Dipping global dairy prices have already resulted in Irish farmers facing a price cut from processors.
OPINION: Are the heydays of soaring global demand for butter over?