Department of Conservation – media release New research to test the use of repellents to help keep kea safe during predator control operations is underway near Arthur’s Pass in Canterbury. The Department of Conservation and OSPRI (TBfree) are funding the research, which will test the effectiveness of two bird repellents (d-pulegone and anthraquinone) in reducing […]
Southland farmers getting winter grazing right
Winter is coming. For farmers, this of course means planning grazing arrangements to see livestock through the harsher months ahead. Southland Federated Farmers recently collaborated with Environment Southland assisting with winter crop inspections, and Southland Federated Farmers winter grazing spokesperson Jason Herrick was pleased to see a wealth of positive management practices displayed by farmers […]
Chemical recovery events planned for Canterbury farmers and growers
Media release – Agrecovery Canterbury farmers and growers are being urged to make use of a subsidised programme to return their unwanted or expired agrichemicals. Throughout June, Agrecovery will be running several chemical recovery events in the Canterbury region. With free or subsidised recovery and disposal of more than 3000 products, the programme provides the […]
Successful rural resilience programmes receive MPI funding boost
Ministry for Primary Industries – media release The Ministry for Primary Industries (MPI) has renewed funding for two successful programmes training farmers, growers and other rural people to manage pressure and adapt to change. The Agri-Women’s Development Trust (AWDT) has been allocated $339,000 to expand its popular ‘Know Your Mindset. Do What Matters’ and ‘Our Resilient […]
BusinessNZ launches public campaign against FPAs – Your Work, Your Way
BusinessNZ – media release BusinessNZ has today launched a nationwide campaign ‘Your Work, Your Way’, calling on Kiwis to reject compulsory FPAs, and stand up for their right to negotiate their own working conditions and pay directly with their employer. An open letter to the Minister for Workplace Relations and Safety has been published in […]
New beehive surveillance project supports biosecurity
Biosecurity NZ – media release The search is on for 100 volunteer beekeepers to join a new Biosecurity New Zealand surveillance project, looking out for future bee threat– the small hive beetle. Biosecurity New Zealand Deputy-Director General Stuart Anderson says the project is the latest of 14 targeted biosecurity surveillance programmes run around New Zealand. “These […]
Milk company fined $30,000 for selling raw milk illegally
Ministry for Primary Industries – Media Release A milk business has been fined $30,000 for not following the rules that regulate the supply and sale of raw milk. Following a successful prosecution by New Zealand Food Safety (NZFS), Manakau-based MannaMilk owner John Albert Martin (78) was today sentenced in the Levin District Court, Horowhenua. Mr […]
Ravensdown secures co-funding to eliminate coal from aglime process
Ravensdown media release – 26 April 2022 Ravensdown announces today that it has achieved government co-funding to accompany the co-operative’s investment to install a biomass combustor at its Dipton lime quarry. Locally supplied wood fuel will replace coal in the lime-drying process – an important part of preparing the naturally occurring soil conditioner for use […]
Updated guide, workshops help with wetlands identification
Regional councils now have another tool in their kit to help identify natural wetlands, thanks to research shared by NIWA’s freshwater ecology specialist Paul Champion. Mr Champion led two, two-day workshops in March, showing regional council staff how to identify characteristics of rushes, sedges and grasses, the dominant vegetation of wetlands in New Zealand. Wetland […]
Direct contact not needed for serious electrocution risk
If you own an irrigation plant remember the need to take extreme care with booms and tall equipment near power lines. In February 2018, a pivot irrigator in Waimate was being commissioned near a 110 kV Transpower overhead transmission line. The irrigator was moved around 7am by the farmer, who was unaware that part of […]