Biosecurity award for M. bovis work
A small company which mobilised veterinarians around the country to deal with Mycoplasma bovis was one of the winners in this year's Biosecurity Awards, held at Parliament.
NEW ZEALAND'S horticulture industry, New Zealand's fourth largest export earner, is collectively holding its breath while it waits to find out if there will be any more Queensland fruit flies found in Northland.
The Ministry for Primary Industries this morning announced the detection of a single male Queensland fruit fly in a suburb of Whangarei.
"This is an anxious time for all growers and the whole horticulture industry," HortNZ president Julian Raine says. "We are watching the response efforts very closely and providing support and advice to the Ministry where we can.
"Growers appreciate the difficulties this is going to cause for people living within the controlled area that has been set up around the find.
"We thank them very much for their co-operation. It's not just commercial horticulture that needs their help, but all Kiwis with fruit trees and veggie patches."
The risk to the $4 billion New Zealand horticulture industry from the Queensland Fruit Fly is two-fold. First is the destruction caused by the pest and the on-going cost of attempting to control it, and
second is the cost of international markets closing to our products, because those trading partners don't want to get the Queensland pest either.
The export of fruit and vegetables is New Zealand's fourth largest export earner.
The country’s 4200 commercial fruit and vegetable growers will vote from May 14 on a new HortNZ levy.
Meat processor Alliance Group is asking farmer shareholders to inject more capital in order to remain a 100% co-operative.
A vet is calling for all animals to be vaccinated against a new strain of leptospirosis (lepto) discovered on New Zealand dairy farms in recent years.
Dairy
Rural banker Rabobank is partnering with Food Rescue Kitchen on a new TV series which airs this weekend that aims to shine a light on the real and growing issues of food waste, food poverty and social isolation in New Zealand.
Telco infrastructure provider Chorus says that it believes all Kiwis – particularly those in the rural areas – need access to high-speed, reliable broadband.
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