Leah Prankerd: A passion for dairying and farmer support
It was love that first led Leah Prankerd to dairying.
OPINION: Submissions on the Government's contentious Gene Technology Bill have closed.
However, the furore surrounding the proposal to end New Zealand's near 30-year ban on gene technology outside the lab isn't going away. There's opposition from within the Government's traditional support base - farmers and growers.
Gene technology isn't all bad of course. It's seen as being able to deliver enormous benefits, including access to better cancer treatments, and increased productivity for farmers through such things as disease-resistant and drought-resistant grasses, and tools to help meet emissions targets. The bill is seen by many as a major milestone in modernising our laws to unlock the potential of science.
There's support for the intent of the bill from dairy and sheep and beef farmers. However, some farmers are worried about the trade and market access risk.
DairyNZ points out that there is a well-established system and practices used for production of high-grade seed crops, which provide a working example of co-existence in practice.
Beef+Lamb NZ says that there are potential opportunities to improve farmers' productivity and environmental impacts. However, it says there are also several potential risks that still need to be addressed in the proposed legislation. These include potential market or trade implications, traceability and co-existence, and how risks are classified.
State-owned AgResearch supports the bull and says it provides the opportunity to align NZ's activities and regulations with those of our major trading partners such as the US, Australia, China, and potentially the EU.
But there's opposition from organic farmers who claim the bill is a threat to organic and conventional farmers, makes GMO-free certification impossible and places financial risks on farmers, not biotech companies. They also claim that deregulation of GE products could remove mandatory labelling, leaving consumers unaware of what's in their food, and economic and trade risks for New Zealand's $1 billion organic industry.
The Government remains committed. Gene technology is a powerful tool that has the potential to deliver enormous benefits for New Zealand, it says. They may have the numbers to pass the bill, but should not ignore the views of those who don't want it enacted.
New Zealand First leader and Foreign Minister Winston Peters is ratcheting up pressure on Fonterra farmers as they vote on divesting the co-operative’s consumer and related businesses.
Alliance Group's Pure South Handpicked 55 Day Aged Beef has been recognised on the world stage, securing top honours at the World Steak Challenge in the Netherlands.
Meat co-operative, Alliance has met with a group of farmer shareholders, who oppose the sale of a controlling stake in the co-op to Irish company Dawn Meats.
Rollovers of quad bikes or ATVs towing calf milk trailers have typically prompted a Safety Alert from Safer Farms, the industry-led organisation dedicated to fostering a safer farming culture across New Zealand.
The Government has announced it has invested $8 million in lower methane dairy genetics research.
A group of Kiwi farmers are urging Alliance farmer-shareholders to vote against a deal that would see the red meat co-operative sell approximately $270 million in shares to Ireland's Dawn Meats.