Herd production performance soars
New data released by LIC and DairyNZ shows New Zealand dairy farmers have achieved the highest six week in-calf rate and lowest notin- calf rate on record.
The result of two probes into the supply of bad sire semen to over 1100 LIC farmer customers will be made public next month.
Following the semen quality issue LIC experienced in October last year, a thorough investigation was done, looking at all operational processes and possible improvements. An independent review was also carried out to look into LIC's response to the issue.
LIC chief executive David Chin says the outcomes of the investigation and independent review are being finalised and will be presented to the board next month.
Following that meeting, all farmer shareholders will be informed of the outcomes and any improvements that will be made to our business as a result, Chin says.
“We thank farmers for their patience and understanding while we work through this.
“We are disappointed as a co-op that we didn't deliver to the high standard farmers expect of us, and we continue to take this situation very seriously,” he says.
The farmer-owned co-operative has already paid out over $2 million to farmers as compensation for supplying some dairy farmers bad sire semen.
Two batches of bad semen were delivered to 1127 farms around the country; semen collected, processed and packed into straws and then sent to farms on October 15th and October 21st failed to pass quality control tests on day three. The straws were used over three days to mate herds and resulted in lower pregnancy rates. Fifteen of the 39 straws collected on October 16th and five of 31 straws collected on October 21st were affected.
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%.