Covid's urban/rural divide
According to a new study from the University of Otago, there was a visible rural/urban divide in Covid-19 vaccination rates.
The wool industry hopes for some lifting of COVID-19 restrictions limiting shearing and crutching to animal welfare reasons only.
“The shearing and crutching that is happening is taking place in the sheds where the contractors are helping to introduce social distancing protocols,” says Federated Farmers meat and fibre chairman Miles Anderson.
“The staff are all 2m away from each other and that sort of thing. So, the shearing and crutching that is happening on farm is taking a bit longer.
“Any wool that has been shorn in the last several weeks is being stored on farm.”
He hopes some restrictions are lifted as pre-lamb shearing was coming up which is an extremely busy time for the contractors.
“The last thing you need is to for them to fall that far behind that they can't do what is in front of them.”
It will depend what the levels look like but only business as usual with a few more health and safety protocols will enable the necessary work to get done.
“There will be more sheep queuing up to be shorn, crutched etc which could pose issues for the industry if the current situation extends well into May. There could be a hell of a number of stock needing to be shorn.”
The North Island lambs earlier so will want to start their pre-lamb preparation and the “big squeeze” in the South Island will come in June.
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.
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