Meat Board oversees $2.6b in exports to quota markets
The New Zealand Meat Board (NZMB) oversees $2.6 billion of red meat exports to the quota markets of the European Union, United Kingdom and United States.
Plan for the worst case scenario in terms of Covid-19.
That's the message to farmers from Beef+Lamb NZ chief executive Sam McIvor. He says farmers need to have a clear plan, mapped out and written up to ensure that their farming operations can carry on if they contract Covid.
McIvor says sheep and beef farmers are often owner-operators and could be isolated by distance, which makes their situation all the more complicated. He says not only do farmers have to care for their family and workers, they also have to take care of animals.
"Farmers should get vaccinated to manage that risk, they should manage the infection risk from others - in other words put in place a personal biosecurity protocol - and they must base their plan on the worst case scenario," McIvor says.
"This means if a farmer becomes infected and a local district health board says they need to go into isolation off farm, what happens?"
According to McIvor, farmers need to have someone set up and ready so they can ring them at the drop of a hat to come in and help, for a couple of days at least. And then plan what might happen thereafter. He says farmers should put in writing all the critical information that person would need to know coming on to their farm - including health and safety protocols.
"Farmers need to be thinking ahead and thinking what might happen if they have to isolate for two or three weeks. They also need to think whether they get a mild dose or a severe dose of Covid and how that might affect their operation," he adds.
McIvor says farmers can look at options and perhaps decide to set stock, as opposed to rotational grazing. He says they could see whether it's possible to delay planting dates for crop and work out if that was an option.
He says it's about thinking about those critical things that need to happen and having a plan around them to minimise the impact on their business.
"Think about what your risk profile is in terms of spread from your farm to others!" McIvor adds.
He says it's not only thinking about the impact on individual farmers, but also the potential impact on others in the value chain as well.
He says this is especially the case given that the industry is approaching the peak of the killing season.
The Climate Change Commission wants the new Government to reduce NZ Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS) auction volumes as son as possible.
Southland-based Mataura Valley Milk can now lay claim to be the first all-electric dairy factory in New Zealand.
Dairy sheep and goat farmers are being told to reduce milk supply as processors face a slump in global demand for their products.
Meat co-operative Alliance Group has bagged four gold medals at the Outstanding NZ Food Producer Awards, achieving top honours for every cut entered.
There is increasing evidence that dairy demand is on the upswing, according to Rabobank senior agricultural analyst Emma Higgins.
Fertiliser use in New Zealand over the 18 months is about 25% down from what it consistently was for the previous decade or more, says Ravensdown chief operating officer Mike Whitty.
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