Celebrating success
The Director General of MPI, Ray Smith says it's important for his department to celebrate the success of a whole range of groups and people around the country.
FEDERATED FARMERS says it hopes to see “some rigour” applied to the Minister for Primary Industries’ independent review of kiwifruit pollen import rules and processes.
The Federation’s vice president, William Rolleston, says he’d also like to see the review extend to all pollen imports “because Federated Farmers doesn’t want any door left ajar.
“Only 13 months ago, the old MAF was so confident in the import health standard for pollen, that it said there was no peer-reviewed scientific evidence pollen was a pathway for bacteria. Even to a layman, it doesn’t seem plausible pollen could transmit viruses and fungi but not bacteria,” notes Rolleston.
He says he’s concerned a 2007 paper, ‘Plant pathogens transmitted by pollen’, may have unduly influenced MAF policy.
“This paper concluded that while certain viruses and fungi could be transmitted by pollen, ‘there are no…bacteria…that are pollen transmitted’.”
Rolleston, a medical scientist as well as farm business owner, says an absence of evidence should be treated differently by decision makers to evidence of absence.
“Categorical negatives are difficult to prove in science and should be treated with some suspicion.
“Having said that, this aspect of the import health standard also slipped past industry scrutiny.
“These are also big lessons to be learnt as MAF Biosecurity ponders the risk of PRRS in imported raw pork, not to mention bee diseases not present in New Zealand but carried in honey overseas, such as European Foulbrood and the Israeli Acute Paralysis Virus.”
OPINION: The recent Federated Farmers / Rabobank 2024 Farming Salaries Report revealed strong growth in farm salaries over the past two years.
The low unemployment environment is one of the key factors driving on-farm salaries higher over the past 24 months, says Rabobank general manager for country banking Bruce Weir.
Fonterra has appointed a new chief financial officer, seven months after its last CFO’s shock resignation.
A seminar on rural dispute resolution has been organised at Lincoln University, Christchurch this month.
The legacy of Dr Peter Snow continues to inspire as the recipients of the 2023 and 2024 Peter Snow Memorial Awards were announced at the recent National Rural Health Conference.
One of Fonterra’s global customers, Mars is launching an ambitious sustainable dairy plan to work with dairy farmers and cut emissions by 50%.
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