Bikinis in cowshed
OPINION: An animal activist organisation is calling for an investigation into the use of dairy cows in sexuallly explicit content posted on social media and adult entertainment subscription site OnlyFans.
Orchardists and nursery owners are starting to raise questions about the future of the apple and stonefruit industry.
The questions follow a messy battle with MPI over the fate of 48,000 apple and stonefruit trees.
The High Court deemed MPI’s initial directive to contain and/or destroy the plants under Section 116 of the Biosecurity Act unlawful. Today at 5pm new directives will be proposed from MPI, despite affected apple and stonefruit industry members claiming MPI has had little communication with them.
Whilst all member’s actions are focussing on the directives for the 48,000 plants in question, the orchardists and nursery owners are starting to raise questions about the future of the apple and stonefruit industry.
“MPI has not moved forward with any pace to re-accredit the CPCNW facility in the US, which leaves us at a loss as to how we will access innovative plant varieties to future-proof our industry and maintain a globally competitive industry position,” says Kerry Sixtus of Pattullo’s Nurseries.
“MPI talked about accessing material through other channels such as Canada or France, but MPI has yet to publish their audit reports or indicate whether they will issue import permits for plant materials from these facilities.
“Not all facilities have the same stock. It is not like shopping for groceries, where you have a choice of retailers. We are dealing with unique and limited plant varieties. For that we need to go to specialist stores and build long-term relationships to ensure we have access to the right products,” says Sixtus.
Academic Dr Mike Joy and his employer, Victoria University of Wellington have apologised for his comments suggesting that dairy industry CEOs should be hanged for contributing towards nitrate poisoning of waterways.
Environment Southland's catchment improvement funding is once again available for innovative landowners in need of a boost to get their project going.
The team meeting at the Culverden Hotel was relaxed and open, despite being in the middle of calving when stress levels are at peak levels, especially in bitterly cold and wet conditions like today.
A comment by outspoken academic Dr Mike Joy suggesting that dairy industry leaders should be hanged for nitrate contamination of drinking/groundwater has enraged farmers.
OPINION: The phasing out of copper network from communications is understandable.
Driven by a lifelong passion for animals, Amy Toughey's journey from juggling three jobs with full-time study to working on cutting-edge dairy research trials shows what happens when hard work meets opportunity - and she's only just getting started.