Taranaki farmer fined $15,000 for illegal NAIT tag swapping
A Taranaki farmer and livestock agent who illegally swapped NAIT tags from cows infected with a bovine disease in an attempt to sell the cows has been fined $15,000.
The Hound hears that a Christchurch ambulance chaser (lawyer) is trying to put together a group action against the livestock firms tied up in a Commerce Commission case over the NAIT scheme.
Your old mate understands the said lawyer is interested in bringing a group representative action to recover a proportion of the fees overcharged to farmers as a result of the unlawful agreements between the firms and parties involved. The case relates to complaints about livestock firms overcharging for ear tags and collection of fees for entry into the NAIT system. The Hound understands an application has already been made to the High Court at Auckland for access to the court's file on the case. Watch this space.
Agrisea NZ has appointed Craig Hudson as it's new chief growth officer.
State farmer Landcorp, trading as Pamu, is a forecasting a full-year net profit of around $100 million.
Tony Aitken, chief executive of Ruralco, has been awarded the Excellence in Business Leadership Award at the ANZ Business of the Year Awards.
Global trade has been thrown into another bout of uncertainty following the overnight ruling by US Supreme Court, striking down President Donald Trump's decision to impose additional tariffs on trading partners.
Controls on the movement of fruit and vegetables in the Auckland suburb of Mt Roskill have been lifted.
Fonterra farmer shareholders and unit holders are in line for another payment in April.

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