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April 2007

F&P latest victim of $
The strong New Zealand dollar continues to plague exporters. The latest victim being Fisher & Paykel Appliances Holdings Ltd.

Leave the deer pee at home
Hunters in Nova Scotia are no longer allowed to take deer pee with them when they go hunting. That's because the Department of Natural Resources has banned the use of deer scents, which contain deer bodily fluid, in an effort to prevent the contagious and lethal Chronic Wasting Disease entering Nova Scotia.

Cows lay eggs in Britain! yeah right
The average 8yo might know how to email people and use internet search engines, yet millions of British kids don't know which animals their food comes from, according to new research by Dairy Farmers of Britain. The findings reveal that thousands of today's 8 year olds think that cows lay eggs.

Dog anxiety drug gains approval
Reconcile, the new drug promoted as being for separation anxiety in dogs has gained FDA approval.

Raising OCR killing farming in NZ
The Government needs to use the tools at its disposal to staibilise the booming housing market rather than relying on the blunt instrument of interest rates, says the Green Party following the raising of the official cash rate by the Reserve Bank this morning to 7.75%.

US money for NZ ethanol company
A New Zealand gas-to-ethanol company has secured a strategic partnership to the value of $US3.5m.

Cheap milk costing Britain dearly
Three British dairy farmers leave the industry every day, driven out by low prices ... those that remain end up selling their milk at, or below, the cost of production.
"The end of subsidies did wonders for NZ agriculture."

It pays to know what's in the effluent
Analysing the effluent off your farm could pay dividends to New Zealand dairy farmers. Often thought of as just waste, the effluent from dairy cows is rich in nutrient resources and it is worthwhile managing these nutrients as efficiently as possible.

OCR rises to 7.75%
The Official Cash Rate (OCR) will increase by 25 basis points to 7.75 percent.
Home owners should not be the fall guys: REINZ

Erosion and ethanol link needs consideration
If conservation of soil organic matter is taken into account, the US at best has to cut in half the amount of cornstalks that can be harvested to produce ethanol, according to an Agricultural Research Service (ARS) study.

Reducing transport emissions a challenge
Reversing the upward trend of transport emissions will be a challenge, according to Labour Party MP David Parker.

Greens happy with carbon commitment
The Green Party has welcomed the Minister of Energy's commitment yesterday to a price on carbon across the whole economy and all greenhouse gases.

Charolais cow spits the dummy
A normally calm Charolais cow well and truly spat the dummy after escaping from her farm near Hanover in Germany on Monday.

Lamb exports to fall from NZ, Aus
Fewer export lambs are likely to be coming out of New Zealand and Australia for the period of April to September - in fact a decrease of 16 percent is expected, according to the NZ Meat and Wool Economic Service.

UK farmers hit by falling lamb prices
British farmers have been left scratching their heads after lamb prices have fallen by 20p/kg in the past four weeks. The drop has left the industry concerned about the future sustainability of the UK lamb trade and the NFU is calling on retailers not to turn their backs on home-reared lamb in favour of cheap imports.

Consumers hold key to dairy future
Consumers hold the key to the future of Britain's threatened dairy industry, according to NFU President Peter Kendall. He said it was consumer power, in the form of WI campaigning over milk prices, which had pushed Tesco into paying its milk suppliers an extra 4p per litre.

Good times to continue in NZ: investors
The good times are expected to continue in New Zealand if investor confidence has anything to do with it.

Dire times for Aussie farmers
With no relief in sight from the "drought of the century" the Australian government has warned the little water farmers are getting might be cut off. While this is dire news for farmers it is expected that it will also start to have a real affect on the cities with predictions that some food prices could increase by 500%

Investor confidence hits new highs in NZ
New Zealand investors are expecting the good times to continue, with more confidence in their investments than at any time since the ASB survey began in 1999.

Sheep poo recycled into paper in UK
Recycling has taken another step forward in the UK where even sheep faeces is being recycled - but not into ethanol, instead to paper.

US flock falls victim to rare scrapie
About 300 sheep in Wyoming will be killed this week - a farmer's whole flock - because they have teested positive to a rare strain of scrapie - Nor98.

Biodiesel uptake won't affect global warming
EU legislation to promote the uptake of biodiesel will not make any difference to global warming, and could potentially result in greater emissions of greenhouse gases than from conventional petroleum derived diesel.

Bee killer might not be new
Beekeepers in the US are starting to wonder if the disappearance of honeybees might have started several years ago. Deaths of bees over the past couple of years that have been blamed on mites or poor management might actually have been from the mystery ailment which is striking down millions of bees now.

Offshore windfarm launched
Though more expensive than land-based wind farms The Netherlands launched their first off-shore farm on Wednesday.

Cattle can be handled safely
Cattle have a flight zone which is best avoided if you want to handle them safely.

Arty cows a hit in Italy
Mooo-velus, darling: 100 life-sized cows, each hand decorated by an artist, are grazing around Italy's fashion capital.

World losing fertile soil
Throughout history civilizations expanded as they sought new soil to feed their populations, then ultimately fell as they wore out or lost the dirt they depended upon. When that happened, people moved on to fertile new ground and formed new civilizations.

Prozac for dogs, almost
Depression and related disorders it seems are relatively widespread - even affecting animals. To combat this problem in dogs, Eli Lilly and Company, which is the maker of Prozac has created a product to lessen separation anxiety in dogs.

Gov't falling behind in climate change debate
The government and its officials are increasingly being left behind in the climate change debate says the NZ Forest Owners Association.

Man fined for importing seeds
The Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry is pleased with the conviction handed down today in the Invercargill District Court to a Stewart Island man for the illegal importation of sowing seeds.

High dollar crucifying farmers
- no thanks to Labour
The New Zealand economy is at serious risk from the continued rise in the Kiwi dollar, said Keith Kelly, Federated Farmers Meat and Fibre Chairman.
And Bill English believes some blame can be laid at the door of the Labour Party.

Watch those contractors
Death and taxes, it is said, are the only certainties in life. If you're a farmer in New Zealand, it's almost certain you will end up paying tax on behalf of someone who has done work on your property.

Are mobile phones wiping out bees?
It seems like the plot of a particularly far-fetched horror film. But some scientists suggest that our love of the mobile phone could cause massive food shortages, as the world's harvests fail.

Boost to Big Brother's arsenal
Big Brother has just had a boost to his arsenal of monitoring equipment with the demonstration of Earth observtion satellites which can help keep an eye on what farmers are doing, or not doing!

ATV rego, plate plan upsets
A wide ranging group of UK organisations have come together in a coalition to lobby against a Parliamentary Private Members Bill which seeks to force all off-road motorcycles and quad-bikes to be registered and carry number plates.

FF reps for Cairns Group meet
Federated Farmers' members will be represented during the Cairns Group farm leaders meeting of agricultural exporting countries in Pakistan next week.

Farm productivity measure meaningless
The use of farm productivity measures is meaningless and of no value whatsoever to farmers, according to farming business specialist Peter Floyd.

New mastitis detection technology in use in NZ
Waikato dairy farmer Brendon Mulgrew is one of the first farmers in the country to invest in a sophisticated mastitis detection technology. The new system continuously measures the quality of milk from every cow at every milking, for instant detection of cows that have mastitis.

Online calculators becoming popular
Online calculators are becoming more and more popular in New Zealand as increasing numbers of people become computer and internet literate. One such new calculator has been launched by Contact Energy and aims to help people calculate their households CO2 emissions.

Cattle like salt, too
Salt, which is made up of sodium and chlorine, plays an important nutritional role in the diet of cattle. Cattle like salt just like some people like salt. But in a herd of cattle, you'll likely find extremes on intake. Some eat a lot while others may seldom touch it.

Study finds high number of rams are gay
If your rams aren't marking many ewes this tupping season there could be a good reason for it ... especially if you notice that other rams are being marked instead! A study in the US has revealed that a high percentage of rams prefer same-sex partners.

Dairy Trust steps closer to dairy processing
The latest entrant into New Zealand's dairy industry took another step forward today by announcing is has agreed to acquire four locations for it's dairy initiative. As announced on 12 March Dairy Trust Limited will develop, own and manage several dairy plants around New Zealand.

OECD echoes forestry stance
The OECD's report on the country's environmental performance has echoed the forest industry's stance that carbon credits and liabilities should be owned by forest owners, not the government.

$34m for agriculture research
Investment of more than NZ$34 million in agricultural research has been announced through a partnership involving the Foundation for Research, Science and Technology and three pastoral industry bodies.

AgResearch sells Tara Hills

GE brassica trial for South Island
If Crop and Food get their way there could be a GE field trial involving brassicas at Lincoln in the very near future. The aim of the trial is to assess agronomic performance of vegetables and forage brassicas over 10 years.

Animal health site adds features
The Morris Animal Foundation has redesigned its web site with more interactive features.

Demand rising for fuel alternatives
The demand for alternatives to petroleum-based fuels is steadily rising. Corn and soybeans - the dominant feedstocks for ethanol and biodiesel production in the US - grow well ibut what are the alternatives?

Wool holds key to heavy metals
A UK researcher has found that wool from sheep can be an indicator of the presence of heavy metals in the environment.

Chicken same price as mutton
The ban on all live poultry in UAE shops has forced retailers to import poultry, increasing the price of chicken to that of mutton.

Who wants to be a sheepfarmer?
Shepherds are in short supply the world over it would seem. In New Zealand there is less and less interest from young people in becoming a sheep farmer - that is not helped by the poor returns NZ sheep farmers are receiving at the moment.

Glorious hay or musty rubbish?
Hay is often a source of great stress and hair-pulling for farmers. Firstly there's the stress of having mown your hay expecting some beautiful sunny weather to dry it - and then the reality of rain, rain and more rain.

Biofuel doesn't just come from corn
While many farmers have begun planting huge amounts of corn with high hopes many don't realize the potential for other crops to provide an alternate energy source to fossil fuels.

Boom picks up momentum in Argentina
The building boom remains on track in Argentina as the economy picks up momentum more development is expected.

Waterways important factor of carbon budget
Life as we know it, from the most basic microbes to our human neighbors, is carbon based. By investigating how carbon cycles through ecosystems, scientists can learn valuable information about food chains, nutrient cycling, and productivity.

Killer disease striking down bees in US
Honey bees are dying out at a horrendously fast rate in the US. While it's been called Fall Dwindle Disease by some, others are referring to it as Colony Collapse Disorder. The essential point is that in 24 US states bees are dying.

A life without dags...
Can you imagine how happy the average sheep farmer would be if he didn't have to bend over and dag sheep any more? Or how easy it would be to get a shepherd or keep the current one, if they were told there was no more dagging.

Ever thought of forming a company?
Here are seven reasons why choosing a company structure for your business may make good sense.

Wool could be key to human hair and skin disorder
Sheep gene research at the University of Adelaide's Roseworthy Campus aimed at helping maximise wool production for Australian producers, has shed light on a human genetic hair and skin disorder.

Review group says Dairy InSight and Dexcel should merge
The dairy industry review group established at the request of the Fonterra Shareholders’ Council has recommended that Dairy InSight and Dexcel be merged.
Recommendation meets with approval from Fonterra Shareholders' Council.

Economic growth and environment compatible
Economic development and growth are compatible with environmental quality, according to MAF. That's lucky because with Fonterra making strong predictions for the coming season it seems likely that more and more New Zealand sheep farmers will be converting to dairy.

Huge corn planting planned in US
Producers plan to plant 90.5 million acres of corn, the largest area since 1944 and 12.1 million acres more than in 2006.

Sainfoin could reduce emissions & bloat
Sainfoin, an ancient food source for livestock could be about to make a comeback. The University of Reading, in the UK, is to investigate how feeding the legume could be of huge benefit to the environment.

Click here for articles from March 2007

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