July 2007

Jim Anderton on farming and the future
Agricultural and horticultural exports comprise two thirds of our overseas earnings ...these are the backbone of our economy.

House market shows signs of cooling
A slowing in the NZ housing market is something most sheep and beef farmers will be pleased to hear about.

Dry Rot study helps humble Southland swede
The future of the humble swede - one of Southland's icons is safe for now, thanks to a research project focused on studying dry rot. The fungal disease has been widespread ...

Fertiliser companies do well
There's definitely money in fertiliser if the operating profits of Ballance Agri-Nutrients and Ravensdown are anything to go by. Both large feriliser companies have done well in the past financial year.

Farmers want urgent change in meat industry
If the lively meeting at Tokanui Tavern, in southern Southland, was anything to go by then there is huge farmer support for change within the meat industry. More than 170 farmers crammed their way into the local pub on Tuesday night to hear ...

Tense times for wool industry
The wool industry is holding its breath as a combination of events this week put more pressure on wool exports.

Fonterra lifts payout to $4.46
Fonterra has announced a final payout for the year ended May 31, 2007 of $4.46 per kilogram of milk solids (kg/MS).

Support grows for PPCS Alliance merger
Farmer support for a merger between PPCS and Alliance Group appears to be gaining momentum if the feeling at a meeting at Five Forks yesterday was anything to go by.

Soil & Health calls for rejection of GE corn
Another GE corn has been recommended to be approved as safe for human consumption by Food Standards Australia New Zealand. But the food safety trials used were flawed ...

Fewer emissions from grass-fed beef
A Swedish study in 2003 suggested that organic beef, raised on grass rather than concentrated feed, emits 40 percent less greenhouse gases and consumes 85 per cent less energy.

Bumblebee research to address decline, hopefully
Conservationists hope that the UK National Bumblebee Nest Survey will help them understand and address the factors responsible for declining bumblebee populations.

NZ beef going well in Japan
Grass-fed New Zealand beef is now on the menu in an increasing number of Japanese restaurants.

High dollar hammers sheep and beef outlook
The 2007-08 outlook for sheep and beef farmers is grim if the current high exchange rates continue for the next 12 months, Meat & Wool New Zealand Chairman, Mike Petersen says.

Alternative crops can help reduce leaching
Although the addition of nutrients to soil helps to maximize crop production, fertilizer can leach nutrients, polluting the water supply.

Huge boost to sheep mapping
The sheep genetics industry received a huge boost last week with the announcement that NZ-based livestock genetics company Ovita has committed $1.2 million worth of funding to help map the sheep genome.

Oil 'giveaway' upsets Greens
The Green Party has expressed its consternation that the Government proposes giving away New Zealand’s oil and gas returns from the Great South Basin for little return.

Calling all farmers to Tokanui Tavern
If your local is the Tokanui Tavern in southern Southland, then the Meat Industry Action Group wants you to get along there on Tuesday evening. And, it's not that they want farmers to drown their sorrows...

Rural turbine launched
This week a prototype wind turbine designed to bring affordable and renewable energy to rural New Zealand was launched.

Dairy efficiencies possible
National design and performance standards are the key to driving improvements in diary sheds, a Venture Southland workshop on Southland dairy shed efficiencies was told today.

Farmers not happy with RMA
The urgent need for change to the Resource Management Act has been confirmed by an independent survey of farmers.

Event the focus of dairy industry in Argentina
The main dairying event of the dairy industry in Argentina is called Mercolactea. It has been operating since 2001.

Farmers hold key to improving lamb prices
The Meat Industry Action Group is sticking firm to its promise to keep sheep farmers well informed. Several hundred Southland and Otago farmers turned out in force last week.

Cruelty with loppers brings fine
A livestock dealer pleaded guilty to six charges under the Animal Welfare Act in the Morrinsville District Court yesterday for the ill treatment of bulls in his care.

Milk price rises in UK
Further to the recently announced milk price rises for June and July, Dairy Farmers of Britain is pleased to announce another increase in the price paid to members for conventional milk

Lamb prices make interesting reading
Reports of ewe lambs being killed rather than kept for breeding is symptomatic of the almost complete lack of farmer confidence in the future of the sheep meat industry.

The plague of procurement ...
Despite occasional boom times in our chequered past, we have been an industry plagued by procurement battles.

Poor lamb prices bring push for change
The opportunity to revolutionise our meat industry into a global success is here.

Booming world with help from fertiliser
The recent International Fertiliser Association conference I attended clearly highlighted that world agriculture is booming at present.

Forest owners concerned by proposed change
Forest owners are concerned about a proposed radical change in the structure of fire services, which could see hillsides left to burn until it is clear who owns the land in question.

US beekeepers could face serious problems
US Department of Agriculture researchers have finalized an action plan for dealing with colony collapse disorder (CCD) of honey bees.

Farm prices increase
Farm prices firmed appreciably during the three months to June, despite a slight weakening in sales, the Real Estate Institute said today.

UK lamb prices recover after market supply glut eases
It has been a mixed year so far for sheep farmers; the lambing season, especially in April, was just about one of the best in living memory, but prices remain decidedly less than attractive.

MIAG meeting update coming soon
The Meat Industry Action Group held the first of it's meetings in Gore yesterday. Today, group representatives are speaking in Balclutha along with several guest speakers.

British supermarkets must pay realistic prices
Realistic prices must be paid for meat if the industry is to be sustainable in the UK, Meat and Livestock Commission Chairman Peter Barr told parliamentarians on Wednesday.

Expert to talk on soil health
Expert to share ways to improve production by balancing soils Biological Agriculture soil productivity expert to speak in Tauranga and Nelson.

New-type FMD outbreak in Asia
Hundreds of cloven-hooved animals in Vietnam have been infected with Asia 1 - a new foot-and-mouth strain.

Strong support heartens farmer groups
North Island sheep farmers are ready for change, if the reception the MIAG and MIRG got at Te Kuiti recently was anything to go by.

Good news - less gas than thought
Countries participating in the Kyoto Protocol are required to either reduce or take responsibility for their excess greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions relative to 1990 levels.

Strong turnout of farmers expected
Disillusioned sheep farmers from Southland and Otago are expected to turn out in their hundreds next week hear the Meat Industry Action Group present their vision for the future.

Argentina and biofuels - all you ever wanted to know!
Argentina has great potential to produce biofuels. It has abundant natural resources, a very efficient agricultural production sector, and good infrastructure.

Methane kills 5 in US
Five people have been killed on a dairy farm in the US - from deadly methane gas.

DOC land to be tendered for carbon storage
Six pilot projects to store carbon on about 40,000 hectares of public conservation land are to be tendered to commercial investors in a major new climate change initiative.

Fertiliser prices skyrocket in NZ
Ballance Agri-Nutrients announced today that it has increased its core fertiliser prices by up to 24 percent.

PPCS reconfigures UK processing facility
PPCS is planning to reconfigure its United Kingdom frozen processing facility to reflect increasing consumer preference for chilled lamb.

US farmers plant 92.9 million acres of corn
US farmers planted 92.9 million acres of corn in 2007, exceeding last year's planted area by 19 percent and surpassing the March projection by 3 percent.

The farming outlook in the UK
Long-time Farmnews correspondent, and farmer, Jim Webster takes a look at what's happening in the farming scene in the UK. As he said: "We are living in interesting times."

Ethanol byproducts appeal to many US farmers
Roughly half of the cattle and hog operations in a 12-state region in the US either fed ethanol co-products or considered feeding them to their livestock last year.

Stress-free operations coming soon for animals
A much less stressful method of surgery could soon be on the cards for animals. Vets at Colorado State University are now offering a variety of minimally invasive surgery procedures for dogs, cats, horses, llamas and alpacas.