Increased sponsorhip has allowed five Nuffield New Zealand Scholarships to be announced for 2013.

Increased sponsorship has allowed five Nuffield New Zealand Scholarships to be announced for 2013.

The TBfree New Zealand Young Farmers 2012 National Conference gets underway in Dunedin next week.

Federated Farmers Farm Day is back for 2012.

The meat industry must stop dancing on a pinhead and get serious about protecting the future of beef, sheep and deer farming, says Jeff Grant, a candidate for meat processor Alliance board elections.

THE ANIMAL Health Board (AHB) says its bovine tuberculosis (TB) control programme is producing results. In its 2010-11 annual report and annual research report, the AHB says it has been a year of significant progress – with infected herd numbers low and the focus remaining on eradicating the disease. The report details the development and implementation of new methods and processes that aim to make the TB-free New Zealand programme more cost-effective and innovative. It says a strong focus has been on identifying the risks and benefits that the AHB's vector control programme poses to non-target species and the natural environment. Work in this area includes the development and analysis of current and potential methods of control. "It gives me great pleasure to report on what has been an exceptional year for protecting the country from bovine tuberculosis (TB)," says AHB chief executive William McCook. He says the drop in infected herd numbers to around 80 in 2010-11 is the lowest recorded total since the TB control programme was conceived. Other milestones for the year include MAF's approval of the revised national pest management strategy and central government's decision to continue providing funding support for the management of bovine TB.…