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This page contains this week’s e-diary national notices.
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This week’s notices:
Beef + Lamb New Zealand Awards prize giveaway
The Beef + Lamb New Zealand Awards dinner is being held on 19 October at Te Pae Christchurch Convention Centre. You could be amongst the winners on the evening and take home a product prize package to the value of $1,000 provided by the award sponsors. Go to beeflambnz.com/awards-dinner and answer two questions. The giveaway closes at 5pm on Monday 16 October, and the winner will be announced at the B+LNZ Awards dinner and online.
Levypayers sought for Directors’ remuneration committees
The B+LNZ Board and the New Zealand Meat Board are looking to appoint members to their respective new Directors’ Independent Remuneration Committees. The committees will review and recommend Director remuneration for livestock farmer approval by voting. Two levypayers are required for B+LNZ and one for NZMB, along with a Chair to serve across both committees. If you pay sheepmeat or beef levies and have governance experience (eg on a Board/Advisory Board) and are interested in being part of these important advisory groups, find out more here, including how to apply.
Ovine (sheepmeat) age verification and compliance
Processors/exporters must verify the age of lambs intended for EU and UK sheepmeat quota markets throughout the production year to ensure New Zealand complies with our international treaty obligations. These checks are done through mouthing in the yards or on the processing chain. To address seasonal changes throughout the year, processors check 100 percent of animals in each mob between 1 September and 31 December. Previously, the date period for 100 per cent checking was 1 October to 31 December, however this has been extended to better ensure old season animals are correctly classified. Incorrect age classification of sheep for quota purposes results in serious penalties including exclusion of quota eligibility of processed sheepmeat.
Podcast on facing up to Facial Eczema
On this new Head Shepherd podcast, B+LNZ’s Principal Advisor Animal Health Research, Cara Brosnahan, talks to Mark Ferguson about the latest research being done to gauge the prevalence and distribution of Facial Eczema (FE) in New Zealand. They talk about B+LNZ’s ‘We want your sheep poo’ research study, where farmers are being asked to sign up to send in their sheep poo, regardless of whether their farm has had prior exposure to FE (including in areas not known for FE prevalence, like the South Island). Listen to the podcast here.