Fat to cut
OPINION: Your canine crusader understands that MPI were recently in front of the Parliamentary Primary Sector Select Committee for an 8-hour marathon hearing.
A South Island farming couple whose farm was the first discovered with Mycoplasma bovis are taking legal action against the Ministry for Primary Industries (MPI).
South Canterbury dairy farmers Wilma and Aad van Leeuwen claim that MPI’s compensation process has left them millions of dollars out of pocket.
The country’s M. bovis outbreak was first reported on one of their farms in July 2017.
The van Leewens claim they’re owed $3 million for animals killed under MPI’s eradication programme, with millions more in claims still to be filed.
They say stock destruction isn’t the only cost of M. bovis. They claim they’ve spent hundreds of thousands of dollars gathering information for MPI, along with increased interest and overdraft payments.
Last week, a judicial review was filed in the Wellington High Court on extending compensation to farmers. “MPI has made it clear right through that it considers that professional fees and bank charges should not be recoverable under the statutory scheme,” said lawyer Grant Cameron. “We say they’re wrong, so we’re asking guidance from the High Court.”
MPI says it has already paid out $96.5m in compensation to farmers affected by M. bovis, but won’t comment further while the matter is before the courts.
Analysis by Dunedin-based Techion New Zealand shows the cost of undetected drench resistance in sheep has exploded to an estimated $98 million a year.
Shipping disruption caused by Houthi rebels in the Red Sea has so far not impacted fertiliser prices or supply on farm.
The opportunity to spend more time on farm while providing a dedicated service for shareholders attracted new environmental manager Ben Howden to work for Waimakariri Irrigation Limited (WIL).
Federated Farmers claims that the Otago Regional Council is charging ahead unnecessarily with piling more regulation on rural communities.
Dairy sheep and goat farmers are being told to reduce milk supply as processors face a slump in global demand for their products.
OPINION: We have good friends from way back who had lived in one of our major cities for many years.
OPINION: A mate of yours truly wants to know why the beef schedule differential is now more than 45-50 cents…
OPINION: Your canine crusader understands that MPI were recently in front of the Parliamentary Primary Sector Select Committee for an…