Alarming holes in NZ’s biosecurity net have been exposed following a review of MAF. Of most concern, MAF has come clean that its response to the Varroa bee mite and Didymo outbreaks was not up to scratch reports the Rural News. The damming admission is part of the 2007-08 financial review of MAF, a report for Parliament’s Primary Production Committee. The report notes that concerns were raised about the chain of command among the agencies for pest management, and the outbreaks of Didymo and Varroa mite cited as instances where there appeared to be ‘no leadership structure to co-ordinate the response’.

‘The ministry acknowledges that some criticism of its approach to managing the response to these outbreaks was valid,’ the report states. ‘In 2005 it had inherited five different response systems, which have since been integrated. ‘It has also worked with regional council and industry groups to clarify their collective responsibilities in the event of such outbreaks.’
 MAF says these measures have significantly improved the situation. ‘The ministry noted, however, that some sector groups had not yet done enough work on their preparedness.

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Good news for sheep farmers with the national Government prepared to reintroduce live exports subject to animal welfare concerns being upheld. In a market where supply is short this must be good news for maintaining the present firm prices and return sheep farming to profit. Agriculture Minister David Carter said yesterday that the Government intends ending the six-year moratorium on live sheep exports but will have to be assured the animals are properly treated during the trip to Saudi Arabia and when they get there reports The Timaru Herald.

South Canterbury Federated Farmers district president David Williams said the move to resume live sheep exports would give farmers another option.”It won’t do any harm provided they can meet welfare issues.” The export of sheep for slaughter overseas has been a long and controversial affair. Animal welfare groups remain steadfastly opposed to the trade.

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Ag Minister David Carter is confident he can come up with a funding package that will deliver more money for agricultural innovation than the recently scrapped Fast Forward Fund  reports the Rural News . And while there will be a delay as a new funding structure is established, he says what the Government will put in place will ultimately deliver funds faster than the FFF would have. He says as there are currently no projects of significance relying on the fund, now is a good time to make sure the structure and processes relating to such a fund are sound.

Carter was responding to claims by opposition agriculture spokesman Jim Anderton that National had dumped the scheme quietly, and removed $700 million from it, as it was ashamed of doing so. But that’s not the case, Carter says.‘This was something we signalled on the campaign trail so we are actually delivering on a promise. It’s not about removing money from research and development, it’s about developing a transparent process for distributing that money.’

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NZ’s top vets have welcomed the Govt’s bonding scheme to combat the shortage of rural vets. Agr Minister David Carter announced the scheme, which encourages vets to stay in an eligible rural practice by providing a payment of $11,000 annually for up to five years. Massey University is the only training provider for veterinary science in NZ. About 95 vets graduate from the five-year Bachelor of Veterinary Science programme, based at the Manawatu campus, each year.

Institute of Veterinary, Animal and Biomedical Sciences head Professor Grant Guilford says the bonding scheme is a “good start” to the shortage of rural vets. “It’s not the answer in isolation but we have worked closely with the Government to develop the scheme and it is a well-thought out financial incentive, especially the decision to withhold payment till after the end of the third year. We also support the opportunity to iron out wrinkles in the transition period.”

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Some of the movers and shakers behind a variety of irrigation schemes in Canterbury and Otago are set to air their concerns to a delegation of Ministers of the Crown reports Rural News. While those attending the December 20 seminar in Christchurch are yet to be confirmed, Minister of Agriculture David Carter is inviting who he sees as the relevant Ministers, including the Minister of Infrastructure Bill English.

He also hopes to have representatives from ‘15 to 20’ schemes. ‘Part of the plan is to get my fellow Ministers up in the air so they can get a better idea visually,’ Carter says. ‘A number of the schemes are in various stages of development. I want the guys behind them to tell us about their schemes and what impediments they have come up against.

‘Then we can start to look at what sort of assistance we may be able to give. ‘At some point we’re still going to have the debate about water allocation but first let’s have a look to see if there are any easy ways to increase availability.’ Part of the seminar will showcase the Opua irrigation scheme in South Canterbury, which has been going for 10 years. ‘It’s been an outstanding success. It’s achieved everything. The river flow has actually improved. There’s a recreational lake and there’s even a component of electricity generation.

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Contrary to more optimistic reports by bankers and meat companies The Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry has presented a pessimistic report to the new Goverment  and released by the Agriculture Minister David Carter.

The papers, released yesterday by Ag Minister David Carter, say a world economic slowdown is likely to reduce demand for agriculture products and will reduce export revenue reports Business Day.

Dairy: Reduced demand from oil producing nations and emerging Asian economies that currently take about 40% of dairy exports.

 Meat: Demand for NZ lamb is likely to fall as consumers turn to cheaper substitutes. Demand for beef is expected to remain strong as consumers switch to lower-cost ground beef.

Wool: Prices are likely to remain low as new housing is the biggest market for wool carpets.

Currency: The depreciation in the NZ dollar will mitigate the reduction in demand for exports.This is the largest eight-month fall since the NZ dollar was floated.

 The ministry sees the global crisis making it harder to obtain and service debt. This follows a rise in farm indebtedness and an increasing vulnerability to financing costs, particularly for dairy farmers, and lower commodity prices, especially for sheep and beef farmers.

Ag Minister David Carter is ranked tenth in the Cabinet, but he expects to have more influence than his predecessor, who was third. “We’ve got a caucus and a cabinet that have a close association with agriculture,” he says. “A quarter of the caucus are actively or have been actively involved with farming or represent strong rural electorates. I don’t think there’s an issue where there will not be a discussion about how it will affect rural communities,”writes Business day

Mr Anderton promised farmers an emissions trading scheme would not apply to them if a scientific solution to their stock methane problem could not be found. “But that’s not the law he voted for,” Mr Carter says. “He voted for a law that absolutely sets in concrete financial implications for agriculture.” 

Carter says he can “absolutely” give the same assurance Mr Anderton gave. Even though the issue of how the country responds to its Kyoto Protocol commitments is to be reviewed by a select committee, he says farming’s security is a bottom line that will not be changed.

Farmers should find favour with most of National’s promises in its recently released agricultural policy and the party is also confident its push for an emissions trading scheme (ETS) won’t bleed rural support. Agriculture spokesman David Carter and leader John Key were in Hastings late last week to outline the party’s pledges to the rural electorate. (more…)