Chief Executive, Dr Scott Champion, says the Strategic Plan defines the way in which M&WNZ will do business through to 2014 ¨To see whats new, what has been retained and where the organisation is putting more or less emphasis over time. We started by looking at the issues facing the industry, considering how the industry needs to respond, and then looking at what role we can play in that response.

Farmers wanted better communication about the tools and practices that will help them be profitable on a sustainable basis. We’ve implemented organisational changes which have seen a shift of staff from Wellington to the regions and there will be an increased focus on extension work, with a dedicated extension team now operating in the regions.

(more…)

Blaming sheep farmers for the loss of 43 jobs at AgResearch is akin to blaming investors for the failure of a finance company. Instead, the focus needs to turn to the private sector to unlock new wool fibre uses reports Scoop.“I think this is a tragedy for the research staff involved and for NZ It highlights a massive gulf between what is expected from research and what’s actually being put into the field,” says Don Nicolson, Fed Farmers President.

“But with the national flock less than half the peak of 70 million reached in 1982, research monies have simply followed this 28-year realignment. AgResearch is basing its business plan on where the sheep industry is, not where it once was. “For wool to be on a par with 1980s returns, it ought to be a $2.8 billion export but now it’s down to just under $500 million. It’s simply wrong to blame farmers for pulling the wool levy when our returns have collapsed.

(more…)

Dairy farmers spilling cow effluent were seen by the public as more of a threat to society than drink-drivers or murderers, Southland dairy farmer Mike Horgan told a dairy industry conference in Invercargill yesterday. His daughter Bridget, 19, and two friends, Megan Hamilton, 22, of Winton, and Virginia Armstrong, 22, were killed by a drink-driver on Good Friday in 1995.

Mr Horgan told delegates at the NZ Large Herds conference at Stadium Southland about his shift from Taranaki to Southland in 1994, and the challenges he had faced, including criticism from sheep farmers. While he admitted the dairy industry could be let down by mediocrity, Mr Horgan criticised the public and the media’s willingness to condemn dairy farmers reports The Southland Times.

(more…)

The benefits of a good winter feeding schedule that leads to ewes having better body conditions scores (BCS) at the start of lambing was highlighted at a field day last week reports The Southland Times. More than 200 farmers attended the Meat & Wool New Zealand Southern South Island sheep and beef council field day at the Woodlands research farm on Wednesday.

Dr David Stevens, of AgResearch, said it was clear poor winter feeding affected several aspects of production before, during and after lambing, and it was essential for good lamb growth, particularly multiples, to have ewes in good condition. “You’re no longer expecting one lamb and 5 kilograms of wool.”

(more…)

New Zealand’s traditional pasture-based farming system faces a conundrum, a leading scientist has warned. Pastoral Genomics scientist Michael Dunbier said we were no longer the world’s lowest-cost food producer, our pastoral system was a major contributor of greenhouse gases, and customers demanded proof that slogans such as clean and green had some validity reports The ODT.

The reality was the our farming systems were contributing methane and nitrous oxide into the atmosphere and nitrate pollution of the soil and waterways. “They are not satisfied with slogans such as free-range or pasture-fed. We need to look carefully at our systems overall,” he said. In addition, resources such as phosphate were being depleted and questions were being asked about the efficiency and sustainability of fertiliser use in general.

(more…)

The UN Food and Agricultural Organisation (FOA) wants a global livestock tax to reduce the contribution their flatulence makes to greenhouse gas emissions reports Rural News.

The FAO says urgent investments, major agricultural research efforts and robust governance are required to ensure the world’s livestock sector responds to a growing demand for animal products and at the same time contributes to poverty reduction, food security, environmental sustainability and human health. “The sector is consuming a large share of the world’s resources and is contributing a significant portion of global greenhouse gases emissions,” the FAO’s State of Food and Agriculture report says.

(more…)

David Chapman, currently Professor of Pasture Science at the University of Melbourne, will join DairyNZ as a principal scientist midyear.  He will join DairyNZ as a principal scientist and lead the team responsible for developing more and better feed, and improving farm systems. David will be responsible for work nationwide and will be based on the Lincoln University campus, reflecting DairyNZ’s commitment to South Island dairy farming.

David, born in Geraldine, is a Lincoln graduate who started work with DSIR (now AgResearch), completing a PhD in the UK before moving to Australia in 1996. DairyNZ Chief Scientist Eric Hillerton said David’s return home brings key skills in pasture and grazing management, dairy forage production and development of pasture-based livestock systems to benefit all of New Zealand’s dairy farmers.

(more…)

Researchers planning on launching a genetically-engineered “super-grass” by 2013 claim cows grazing on it will produce up to 20 percent more milk. The GE ryegrass – being developed in Australia for NZ seed company PGG Wrightson – has potential to make a huge difference to agriculture, according to the chief executive of the Australia’s Molecular Plant Breeding Cooperative Research Centre (MPBCRC), Glenn Tong.

Existing dairy farming pasture-grasses are mainly perennial ryegrass and tall fescue, but the perennial ryegrass grows best in temperate areas that are becoming warmer with climate change reports Stuff. Mr Tong told the ABC that the technology works to increase the carbohydrates or energy molecules in the grass, and the fodder will also be more digestible than existing ryegrass so the sheep and cows can access those energy molecules more easily.

(more…)

Outgoing AgResearch chief executive Andy West is not surprised by a survey which showed high levels of job dissatisfaction among agricultural and soil scientists. The survey, conducted by Professor Jack Sommer of the University of North Carolina for the New Zealand Association of Scientists, found more than 61 per cent of agricultural and soil scientists questioned were concerned with the direction funding of scientific research was heading.

More than half (51.6 per cent) felt secure in their jobs but 48 per cent said job satisfaction had decreased since the last survey five years before reports The Waikato Times. Only 42 per cent would recommend science as a career.Dr West, who leaves the job on June 30 after announcing his resignation this month, is looking at the private sector and offshore for his next role. “Presently, there is too much competition for funding. However, I am hopeful that a better balance between contest and stability will be introduced in the near future,” Dr West said.

(more…)

 Scientists in the US have developed an antibody-based test for bovine tuberculosis (bTb) reports The Beef Site. The new multiplex antibody test is able to detect antibody activity to 25 antigens at one time, something that was previously not possible. The new test may one day replace the current skin and gamma interferon tissue culture tests.

Currently there is no effective treatment for bTb, so early diagnosis is critical. This new test can detect the disease faster and with great accuracy. Dr William Davis, professor in Washington State University’s Veterinary Microbiology and Pathology department said: “Our test can provide results in a matter of hours rather than days with current methods. It also has increased specificity and is highly sensitive, so there are fewer false positives.”

(more…)