NATIONAL FIELDAYS
ANIMAL HEALTH
NEWS
Break out the shorts, but keep a brolly handy. PAGE 26-40
Lisa shows how it’s done.
Feds frustrated by new winter grazing rules PAGE 8
PAGE 45
TO ALL FARMERS, FOR ALL FARMERS NOVEMBER 22, 2022: ISSUE 764
www.ruralnews.co.nz
A united front! PETER BURKE
peterb@ruralnews.co.nz
MULTIPLE SUBMISSIONS are heading in from top farming groups to the Government in response to its deeply unpopular agricultural emissions proposal. The goal is to form a united front
and advocate strongly for farmers on emissions pricing. The leaders of DairyNZ, Beef+Lamb New Zealand (B+LNZ) and Federated Farmers have met to discuss emissions pricing and reaffirmed a common positionbetween the three organisations. The farming groups claim it will enable them to move forward together and
Out and about! Mark Leslie has been in the top job role at Pamū for about eight months. During this time, he’s been getting out to most of its 116 farming units. Leslie says it was very useful to talk to farm staff and really understand the challenges they are facing, which matches the challenges the whole sector is up against. He’s enjoyed the conversations with the teams which he says has highlighted the need for collaboration across the NZ agri sector. – Going digital. See page 10.
Protect your herd and your bottom line
advocate strongly on behalf of farmers. DairyNZ chair Jim van der Poel says a united voice on emissions pricing is the best way to ensure positive policy outcomes for farmers. “All three organisations have reaffirmed nine core principles that we will all be raising in our submissions and through the He Waka Eke Noa
(HWEN) partnership,” he says. Effectively the Government will be receiving three submissions from each of the organisations: One through HWEN, a joint one from the gang of three, plus each organisation will make a separate submission dealing with issues that directly affect their members.
Feds Andrew Hoggard has already stated that “it will go hard”, while van der Poel has made it clear that “no deal is better than a bad deal” and that only a fair and reasonable system will be accepted for farmers. Van der Poel says DairyNZ is committed to securing a fair pricing system for farmers and would like to see the Government revert to the HWEN recommendations put forward in May. He claims HWEN was designed as a whole farm system approach to reduce emissions, meet targets and give fair recognition and reward for planting farmers have done on their farms. “We believe the Government’s significant and unnecessary changes have undermined farmer confidence in the process and needlessly put the finely balanced, cross-sector consensus at risk,” he says. “The Government’s suggestion it has given the sector what we asked for – with ‘small tweaks’ – is incorrect. The changes are significant and cut to the very core of the He Waka Eke Noa partnership.” Van der Poel says NZ must reduce its emissions but it can’t drive blindly toward targets at all costs. “We have to remember why we’re doing this in the first place. The Paris Agreement is about reducing global emissions, not just New Zealands.” Nine core principles will be raised directly with the Government, which include stating that the current methane targets are wrong and need to be reviewed and that targets should be science-based, not political, and look to prevent additional warming.
Use Bovilis® BVD for 12 months of proven fetal protection.* The longest coverage available. Exposure to BVD could mean your unborn calves become Persistently Infected (PI’s) - spreading BVD amongst your herd. It’s estimated that up to 65% of New Zealand’s beef herds are infected with the BVD virus at any given time. The convenience of the longest coverage available along with flexible dosing intervals# means you can protect this season’s calves no matter when they are conceived.
Avoid an outbreak. Ask your vet about vaccinating with Bovilis BVD or visit bovilis.co.nz *Following a third dose (annual vaccine) Bovilis BVD provides 12 months fetal protection. # Interval between dose 1 (sensitiser) and dose 2 is from 4 weeks to 6 months. 3rd dose given as annual single dose. AVAILABLE ONLY UNDER VETERINARY AUTHORISATION. ACVM No’s: A011866. Schering-Plough Animal Health Ltd. Ph: 0800 800 543. www.msd-animal-health.co.nz Copyright © 2022 Merck & Co., Inc., Rahway, NJ, USA and its affiliates. All rights reserved. NZ-BOV-220700002