McRae Wins Southern South Island B+LNZ Director Vote
Matt McRae, a farmer from Mokoreta in Southland who runs a sheep, beef and dairy support business alongside a sheep stud, has been elected to the Beef +Lamb NZ Board as a farmer director.
A Ministry of Primary Industries operation in Auckland has led to the prosecution of several meats sellers after raw meat samples were found to contain non-compliant substances.
The charges were laid after a 2013 MPI operation, which found raw meat containing sulphites/sulphur dioxide at several business in the greater Auckland areas.
In total, 15 meat wholesalers/retailers and three company directors were charged and appeared before the Manukau and Auckland District Courts in late 2014 and early 2015.
According to Beef + Lamb none of those prosecuted are part of any major supermarket or high profile butchery chains.
In addition to fines, Beef + Lamb New Zealand chief executive officer, Rod Slater says there are serious implications for those found to be non-compliant.
“Make no mistake; there is no room for this type of operator in New Zealand. We take these offences extremely seriously and support MPI’s actions.
“In the main, we find New Zealand retailers and wholesalers are extremely proud of the standards which they are upholding. This behaviour is definitely not the norm and I think you’ll find the rest of the industry will be left extremely disappointed,” says Slater.
Matt McRae, a farmer from Mokoreta in Southland who runs a sheep, beef and dairy support business alongside a sheep stud, has been elected to the Beef +Lamb NZ Board as a farmer director.
Ravensdown's next evolution in smart farming technology, HawkEye Pro, was awarded the Technology Section Award at the Southern Field Days Farm Innovation Awards in February 2026.
While mariners may recognise a “dog watch” as a two-hour shift on a ship, the Good Dog Work Watch is quite a different concept and the clever creation of Southland siblings Grace (9) and Archer Brown (7), both pupils at Riverton Primary School.
Philip and Lyneyre Hooper of the Hoopman Family Trust have tonight been named the Taranaki Regional Supreme Winners at the Ballance Farm Environment Awards.
We are not a bunch of sky cowboys. That was one of the key messages from the chairperson of the NZ Agricultural Aviation Association (NZAAA) Kent Weir, speaking at an education day at Feilding aerodrome for 25 policymakers and regulators from central and local government and other rural professionals.
New Zealand's dairy and beef industries say they welcome the announcement that the Government will invest $10.49 million in the Dairy Beef Opportunities (DBO) programme.