Feds support live animal exports
Federated Farmers have reiterated their support for the coalition Government to abolish the present ban on the live export of animals.
A total of 34 graduate vets will be placed in rural areas this year, from Northland to Southland, through the Government's Voluntary Bonding Scheme for Veterinarians (VBS).
The successful recipients will each receive funding of $55,000 over five years, in a bid to help ease the shortage of vets working with production animals in the regions.
"It's well known that there's a real need for vets, especially in rural areas," Agriculture Minister Damien O'Connor says.
"Since it began 12 years ago, the Voluntary Bonding Scheme for Veterinarians has made a big difference in attracting and retaining graduate vets to rural communities that can be challenging to recruit staff to.
O'Connor syas the scheme supports New Zealand to maintain its world-class standards in biosecurity, animal welfare and food safety.
"Through this funding, we aim to ensure we have the best care for production animals and working dogs across the country."
Since 2009 when the VBS programme began, 384 graduate vets have been funded to start their careers working with production animals in rural practice.
"The scheme sits alongside other programmes we're investing in to address skills challenges in rural New Zealand," O'Connor adds.
NZPork has appointed Auckland-based Paul Bucknell as its new chair.
The Government claims to have delivered on its election promise to protect productive farmland from emissions trading scheme (ETS) but red meat farmers aren’t happy.
Foot and Mouth Disease outbreaks could have a detrimental impact on any country's rural sector, as seen in the United Kingdom's 2000 outbreak that saw the compulsory slaughter of over six million animals.
The Ministry for the Environment is joining as a national award sponsor in the Ballance Farm Environment Awards (BFEA from next year).
Kiwis are wasting less of their food than they were two years ago, and this has been enough to push New Zealand’s total household food waste bill lower, the 2025 Rabobank KiwiHarvest Food Waste survey has found.
OPINION: Sir Lockwood Smith has clearly and succinctly defined what academic freedom is all about, the boundaries around it and the responsibility that goes with this privilege.