AGRIBUSINESS
MACHINERY & PRODUCTS
NEWS
A chance to pocket from Rockit. PAGE 15
If it weren’t for their gumboots.
Red meat project to see out its tenure under the new government. PAGE 13
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TO ALL FARMERS, FOR ALL FARMERS DECEMBER 19, 2017: ISSUE 644
www.ruralnews.co.nz
Drought on cards PETER BURKE peterb@ruralnews.co.nz
THE THREAT of a big drought is prompting Westpac to contact its farmer clients to see what help they may need. Andrew Hill, senior manager of risk and strategy for agribusiness, says the bank is talking to farmers and their families who are under stress, to see
what the bank can do now to help them personally, and to buy extra feed if needed. “We will be… asking what contingency plans they have made,” he told Rural News. “We are starting to hear about people talking about once-a-day milking and starting to look after their better-performing cows to try to maintain production and make sure cows
LONG TIME BETWEEN DRINKS Sheep graze dry pasture a few kilometres west of Christchurch Airport in early December, on the day the airport weather station recorded its 46th consecutive day of no rain, bettering a record set in 1954.
recently mated don’t lose their calves.” Hill says farmers early-on have been using surplus cash to repay debt. But he acknowledges that with the likely lower dairy payout less cash will be around and farmers must manage this well. Meanwhile, Agriculture Minister Damien O’Connor says the ongoing dry is forcing hard decisions on more farmers and horticulturalists. Recent
rains were insufficient; MPI is watching this and regularly updating him. “Government acknowledges we are facing climate change,” he says. “Now all primary sectors must build more resilient systems to deal with the changes in climate that we have experienced in the last few years.” O’Connor says on his own patch, the West Coast, the lack of rain is challenging farmers. TO PAGE 5
ALARM AT DISEASE SPREAD SUDESH KISSUN sudeshk@ruralnews.co.nz
THE DRAMATIC spread of cow disease Mycoplasma bovis has alarmed farmers, says Federated Farmers vice-president Andrew Hoggard. Farmers are hugely concerned the disease has spread beyond South Canterbury, Hoggard says. “The more widespread the disease gets, the harder it will be to control,” he told Rural News. Last week, the Ministry of Primary Industries revealed that four more farms, including one in the North Island, have tested positive for the disease. Another property is strongly suspected to have the disease too. One of the recently infected properties is in the Hastings district, the other three are within a farming enterprise in Winton. The suspect property is near Ashburton. MPI’s director of response Geoff Gwyn says early indications are that all the properties have links with the Van Leeuwen Dairy Group (VLDG) through cattle movements. “The Hastings and Ashburton properties were identified through our tracing programme and the Winton property was identified through the industry milk testing programme. “All the movements we have been tracing are prior to July 21 when the disease was first detected and notified to MPI.” TO PAGE 4