Farm sales drop 11pct as cattle disease keeps farmers nervous

New Zealand farm sales fell 11 percent in the March quarter from a year earlier, as the mycoplasma bovis cattle disease outbreak weighed on purchasing intentions and spanned a period where smaller plots of rural land were captured by the regime to screen foreign buyers.

'Dark moments' dealing with cattle disease

Since Mycoplasma bovis was detected on their property in July last year, Kerry and Rosie Dwyer have gone through some «very dark moments».But there had also been some heartwarming and humbling times for the North Otago farmers who voluntarily sent 400 calves to slaughter and now face an undefined period before they can be rid of the impact of the bacterial cattle disease.

Cattle Inventory Indicates Potential Expansion in the Dairy Sector

The dairy herd inventory was up 1 percent during 2017, adding 54,000 head to last year’s Jan. 1 number. ( Wyatt Bechtel ) The recently released Jan. 1 Cattle Inventory report kicks off the year with hard numbers on both the dairy and beef cattle herd. This highly anticipated report is one of the few […]