Tables laden with individually labelled sampling packs and stacks of small chilly-bins have marked the start of a new front in the fight against the cattle disease Mycoplasma bovis.

A weather snapshot across the country shows ‘variable’ as the only word to describe weather and pasture conditions, says Andrew Reid, DairyNZ general manager extension.

The equivalent of ‘currency’ for cows will be updated next month to better reflect the industry’s focus on efficient, high quality milk production, says LIC.

Agriculture and Biosecurity Minister Damien O’Connor says farmers have spoken up about the slowness of the response to the disease Mycoplasma bovis.

DairyNZ biosecurity manager Chris Morley, a vet with long experience with Mycoplasma bovis in Canada and his native UK, says NZ is unusual in its “open” farming systems. 

The mycoplasma bovis outbreak is a big wake-up call for the industry, says DairyNZ chief executive Dr Tim Mackle.

With New Zealand experiencing record-breaking heatwaves this summer, AgResearch scientists say farmed animals can be susceptible and the pressure is on farmers to manage it.

In anticipation of on-going growth, international seed business Germinal has appointed Andrew Miller as its sales manager.

Over the last three years, pressure has increased on dairy farmers to produce food with a low environmental footprint.

Cleaner rivers, welfare, environmental footprint, carbon footprint, dirty dairying... the list goes on. Buzzwords are driving changes to legislation and the way dairy farmers will have to operate in the future.