The United States dairy industry is turning its attention outside its own borders and could emerge as a significant competitor to NZ and Australia in international export markets, a visiting global dairy expert has cautioned.

AT LEAST 40% of New Zealand is too steep to cultivate yet still less than 1000m above sea-level.

CATTLE FARMERS are being warned to be on the alert for anaemic and lethargic animals as a new strain of tick-borne disease Theileria sweeps south.

The new Market Connections Fund is an excellent initiative to help New Zealand businesses build back their relations with overseas customers, says Federated Farmers.

DairyNZ has released a new smartphone app to help farmers apply effluent more efficiently.

FONTERRA MAY soon own its first dairy farms in Australia. The Australian newspaper reports Fonterra is teaming up with state-owned China Investment Corporation to buy Van Diemen's Land (VDL), Tasmania, in whole or in part.

PRAISE FOR Fonterra and the Government’s handling of the false-alarm food safety recall has come from an unexpected quarter – A2 Corporation which is launching its own infant formula brand in China in November.

MILK FLOWS nationwide are mostly up on last year, but dairy industry managers are not forecasting a record season.

THE ENTREPRENEURIAL spirit of its researchers and their closeness to customers – in particular dairy farmers – is why Bayer is keen on doing R&D in New Zealand. The “can-do” attitude is one of the reasons the German global animal health giant spends $10 million in R&D in New Zealand, with dairy an important part, says Bayer’s head of global animal health development Dr Douglas Hutchens. Bayer’s Centre for Innovation and Development (CID) has just opened a new research facility at its North Shore, Auckland, site. This replaces a smaller laboratory at its Manukau production site.  The new, larger facility will make veterinary medicines more effective as it develops new formulations for the local market and region.  Bayer’s CID head Wayne Leech says dairy is a big species for them with key development areas in mastitis and reproduction.  “We are doing a lot of dairy innovation in New Zealand that goes out to other countries,” Leech told Dairy News. “We have at least three projects now that have gone on to become global projects.” They have gone back to Germany now, and are in development stages for worldwide launch. Hutchens says one of the keys for Leech and his group…

THE WORLD’S largest milk powder drier, at Fonterra’s Darfield site in Canterbury, started production last month.