Ashburton Courier: January 23, 2020

Page 28, Ashburton's The Courier, Thursday 23 January 2020
Local news at www.starnews.co.nz
Seasonal Farm Supplies & Services
Wetlands maps update
Landowners with wetlands identified on
their properties need to check their
Environment Canterbury (Ecan) wetlands
map layer has been applied
correctly.
There is a chance information has
been omitted or is no longer correct so
Ecan staff want people to make contact
if wetland area information is no longer
up­to­date.
Ecan chief operating officer Nadeine
Dormmisse, writing to update the Ashburton
Water Zone Committee, said
there were fewer people than expected,
since September 18, who had made
contact around the wetland map layer
available for viewing on the Ecan
website.
‘‘We have received just 22 requests for
areview of(or deletion from) the layer.
Despite this relatively small number, we
are committed to ensuring that information
about the layer is as clear and
transparent as possible.’’
She said changes had been made to
map layers to show the difference
between wetlands aerially identified and
ground surveyed, and those changes
were visible regardless of which platform/device
you access the information.
Ecan had also created a web page
which included several new frequently
asked questions such as funding assistance,
interaction with a confirmed
wetland and farm environment plans.
As well as factsheets on mapping,
wetland mapping reviews, and how a
wetland presence can impact on the
consenting process.
‘‘The factsheets are designed to provide
clear information onthe wetlands
layer and the way in which landowners
can query the presence of apotential
wetland, and if confirmed, what implications
it might then have,’’ Ms Dommisse
said.
‘‘Our overarching aim is to continue
working with stakeholder organisations
to ensure our message is appropriate
and reaches the widest range of people
possible and (for) individual landowners
concerned about the possible presence
of a wetland on their land to gain
clarification and guidance.’’
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Funding will help improve the health and wellbeing of the national dairy herd.
$25m funding boost to
improve national stock
The dairy industry will benefit
from a$25.68 million innovation
programme to improve the health
and wellbeing of the national
dairy herd and change sustainable
milk production.
The seven­year programme,
called Resilient Dairy: Innovative
Breeding for a Sustainable
Future, will see investment in new
disease management technologies
and advancements in genomic
science to improve cow
productivity, and produce better
cows with improved health, wellbeing
and environmental resilience.
Officially launched by minister
of agriculture Damien O’Connor,
the programme is being led by
farmer­owned herd improvement
co­operative Livestock Improvement
Corporation (LIC), with
investment and support from the
Ministry for Primary Industries
(MPI) and DairyNZ. LIC is
investing $11.2m, MPI $10.3m
and DairyNZ $4.2m.
MPI director investment programmes
Steve Penno said at the
heart of the new programme is
innovation that aims to deliver
long­term economic, environmental
and animal health benefits
for New Zealand. ‘‘For New
Zealand to maintain its reputation
as aworld­leading producer
of premium products, we need to
further increase the value of our
products in away that improves
sustainability,’’ Mr Penno said.
‘‘MPI is investing in this new
programme as it aims to deliver
long­term gains in anumber of
areas, including sustainable production,
milk quality, and animal
Damien O’Connor
Dr Bruce Thorrold
wellbeing, while importantly
reducing impacts on the environment.’’
LIC, the largest supplier of
artificial breeding services to New
Zealand’s dairy farms, will leverage
its existing capabilities in
genomic science and diagnostics
to develop innovative breeding
tools and tests that support more
sustainable milk production.
LIC chief scientist Richard
Spelman said ‘‘We’re committed
to providing farmers with the
tools they need to improve their
prosperity and productivity in a
sustainable way, with animal
health, wellbeing and the
environment at the forefront.’’
‘‘This programme will strengthen
our existing research and
development work to keep our
farmers and New Zealand leading
the global pastoral dairy
system,’’ he said.
Investment from industry­good
body DairyNZ will go into rebuilding
its national evaluation
system for dairy cattle to incorporate
genomic information to
facilitate faster rates of genetic
gain.
DairyNZ strategic investment
leader Dr Bruce Thorrold said
‘‘Resilient Dairy is our opportunity
to get back in front of the
world with genetic gain. With new
discoveries in genomic methods
and data collection we are now in
the position to jump ahead and
incorporate genomic data into
our animal evaluation system
enabling the whole sector to
maximise genetic gain,’’ he said.
Mr Spelman said the programme
would address calls for
resilience and sustainability on
dairy farms, now and into the
future.
‘‘Through the new Resilient
Dairy: Innovative Breeding for a
Sustainable Future programme,
we’re investing now, to help
future­proof our dairy industry
and deliver long­term benefits for
New Zealand.’’