Gypsy Day approaching and Mycoplasma bovis

First detected in New Zealand in July 2017, Mycoplasma bovis (M.bovis) has become an issue for our agricultural sector.

Gypsy Day is fast approaching for our dairy farmers which sees increased stock movements around New Zealand. If you are buying cows, we recommend that you have the protection of a written agreement. This agreement can provide warranties and provisions around the rejection of animals.

Such protections are not available, obviously, when moving your own stock to another property you also own or on which you sharemilk. We recommend you check for Restricted Place Notices and Notices of Directions when moving stock/farms.

M.bovis is covered in more detail here.

In the meantime, if you have any queries around moving cows and/or would like to discuss a written agreement when buying cows, please contact us.

Rural businesses are no different from any other producers in the market in the sense that the ultimate fruits of their labours are, at some point, sold to a third party, whether that is to a meat company, a fruit packer or exporter, or a wine or dairy company.

All sales of product are governed by a contract of sale, the terms of which are either set out by statute (see below) or in a supply agreement or a contract to purchase goods or services of some description. Most of these contracts are industry standard-type contracts and, in many cases, the rural producer has little say over what goes in those contracts; most large fruit exporters, winemakers or dairy companies have their standard terms and conditions and won't negotiate individual contracts with individual suppliers. Read more…

Mycoplasma bovis (M.bovis) is a bacterial disease commonly found in cows all over the world. First detected in New Zealand in July 2017, it has affected a small number of farms in the South Island and Hawke's Bay. The Ministry of Primary Industries (MPI) is working hard with farmers to control the disease and, if possible, eradicate it from New Zealand. Read more…

... there could be some surprises!

Whether you like it or not, you will probably need to fund your farming operations with borrowing from one of New Zealand's main trading banks.

The main terms that borrowers look at when signing loan facility documentation relate to the cost of the borrowing: interest rate, the amount of the repayment sums and the term of the lending. The security required is usually a mortgage over the farm land and, more often than not, a general security agreement which is effectively a mortgage over all of the farming entity's assets that are not land such as stock, crops, machinery, receivables and so on. Read more…

A new (uncertain) dawn for farmers

One of the hot issues in the recent election campaign was raising the water standards in our rivers and lakes. Regional authorities are the bodies that are charged with implementing the government's water standards policy.

All regional authorities have implemented, or are in the process of implementing, plan changes that are designed to enable them to achieve the minimum water standards set by government. Read more…

Late last year we noted that the first sentencing under the Health and Safety at Work Act 2015 was about to be released. The decision in WorkSafe New Zealand v Budget Plastics (New Zealand) Ltd [2017] NZDC 17395 saw the court impose hefty penalties for breaches of the new health and safety legislation.

The case involved an employee who had his hand amputated after it was caught in a plastic extrusion machine. Budget Plastics was found to have failed to comply with a number of industry standards and guidelines. Recommendations made from an earlier health and safety audit had not all been implemented. The case was not considered so serious that the company should be fined so heavily it could have been put out of business (although in some cases that may be appropriate). The court imposed a fine of $100,000, reparation of $37,500 and costs of $1,000.

If you haven't yet reviewed your health and safety compliance since the new regime came into force on 4 April 2016, we recommend you do this immediately. It's essential for your farming operation and all who work on it.