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Otago Daily Times
a day ago
- Sport
- Otago Daily Times
Dog trials entertain, fundraise
The finalists ready for the Indoor Charity Dog Trials on Sunday. Judge Rod Coulter and his wife Helen are at the far left. Photo: supplied There were dogs from here, there and everywhere at the Southern Indoor Charity Dog Trials in Gore over the weekend. At the victory ceremony at the Southern Indoor Charity Dog Trials at Waimumu are (from left) Gore District Mayor Ben Bell, trials chairman Mike Joyce, and winner Trevor Stark. Photo: supplied The 10th annual event took place as usual under the roof at Waimumu with 173 competitors. Mike Joyce, of Wendon Valley, has been involved with the Southern Indoor Charity Dog Trials since the event's inception 10 years ago. Photo: Sally Rae The triallists came from all round the South Island and the standard of competition was high. Sarah Harvey and Steve Bellew watch the action at the charity dog trial. Photo: Sally Rae The event took the weather out of the equation and dogs and humans enjoyed the three days. Since its inception the event had raised about $150,000 for charity. Sitting in the liberator's corner at the Southern Indoor Charity Dog Trial are (from left) Trevor Stark, Eddie Conlan and Paul Crooks. Photo: Sally Rae After the early rounds, the last 13 dogs and their guides emerged for the final. After the final, West Otago man Trevor Stark was declared the winner with his dog Jess, with a score of 97. He finished half a point clear of Brian Dickison, of Waikaiai, with his dog Don, and Andy Clark, of Darfield, and his dog Kip, a further point back in third. Ray Steel (left) and Russell Peek help release sheep at the Southern Indoor Charity Dog Trial. Photo: Sally Rae Results Trevor Stark, with dog Jess, 97pts, 1; Brian Dickison, Don, 96.5, 2; Andy Clark, Kip, 95.5, 3; Levi McCall, Jane, 94.5, 4; Vic Stanley, Jay, 93.5, 5; Paul McCarthy, Meg, 92.5, 6; Ian Stevenson, Zach, 92, 7; Des McGregor, Jan, 91.5, 8; Barry Hobbs, Fleur, 87.5, 9; Ian Broadhurst, Nell, 87, 10; Margaret Evans, Prince, 84, 11; Quinton Whitehead, Ted, 67, 12; Paul McCarthy, Von, 64.5, 13.
Otago Daily Times
11-08-2025
- Business
- Otago Daily Times
Farmers to vote on co-op's 65% sale to overseas group
The Alliance Group's Pukeuri plant. Photo: Sally Rae. Irish meat company Dawn Meats Group will take a 65% stake of Alliance Group, subject to the co-operative's farmer-shareholders giving the deal a tick. This morning, Alliance confirmed the rumour that had been circulating, following a capital raise process, that the Irish company would pay $NZ250 million in the proposed transaction, subject to shareholder acceptances, High Court and regulatory approvals. Proceeds from the transaction would be used to reduce Alliance's short-term working capital facility by approximately NZ$200 million, accelerate the board's strategic capital expenditure programme and enable the distribution of up to $40 million to the co-operative, subject to shareholder livestock supply, the co-operative said in a statement. Alliance chairman Mark Wynne said the announcement comes after a two-year process to reset and recapitalise the business. The transaction is to be implemented via a Scheme of Arrangement and will require a minimum of 75 per cent shareholder acceptance of those who vote, and greater than 50 per cent of all shareholding voting yes at a Special General Meeting (or via proxy) to be held in Invercargill in mid-October. If shareholders do not support the proposed investment, the Alliance board would be obligated to enter into a process led by its banking syndicate, which may involve possible asset sales, site closures and further cost-reduction initiatives, the statement said.
Otago Daily Times
16-07-2025
- Health
- Otago Daily Times
Tb risk in Upper Waitaki focus of meeting
A public meeting is being held in Omarama tomorrow afternoon to discuss bovine tuberculosis risk following concerns about Ospri's response to Tb in the nearby Lindis Pass. Business and rural editor Sally Rae reports. Upper Waitaki farmers say Ospri has "dropped the ball" on bovine Tb control in the area and have called a public meeting to seek answers after infected calves were sold at a calf sale in Omarama earlier this year. Ospri — a partnership between primary industries and government — manages the TBfree national programme which aims to achieve Tb freedom in livestock by next year. The meeting, at the Omarama Hall tomorrow at 3pm, will discuss Tb risk in the area and vector control, and will be attended by Ospri representatives. Anyone is welcome to attend. This week, affected farmer Dave Ellis, who owns both dairy and beef properties in the Omarama area, including Tara Hills Station, said Ospri needed to be "dragged through the coals" for not putting the Lindis Pass into a movement control area to contain the disease. In MCAs — areas where infected possums are known to exist or where it is important to monitor the possible spread of Tb in those populations — herds are tested every year and pre-movement testing is required before any animal can be moved off a property. Possums are the main source of bovine Tb in New Zealand. In April, Mr Ellis bought calves at the Omarama calf sale and was later phoned by one of the vendors, from the Lindis Pass area, to say they had reactors to Tb. Mr Ellis, who immediately contacted Ospri, said he did not initially realise how big the Tb issue was in the Lindis and it should have been an MCA. No stock from properties neighbouring farms with Tb-infected herds should be allowed to be put into sales untested, he said. After the first test, Mr Ellis said two calves "festered up" and had significant lesions on them. From blood testing, 10 animals were elevated to investigate further. Those calves were killed and samples sent for testing which showed four of the 10 had Tb. Mr Ellis and his wife Karen have been farming in the area for 20-odd years, and have owned Tara Hills for about 15. When they first took over, they had two years under movement control. Once that was cleared, "life was a lot easier", he said. The current situation meant Omarama farmers might have to go back under movement control and that created a lot of extra work when large numbers of animals were involved. However, it also provided "peace of mind". While not proud to have had animals identified with Tb, Mr Ellis said he had been very open about their situation and made sure neighbouring farmers knew about it. He believed Ospri now needed to "chuck everything at it" to get on top of Tb in the area. He also questioned why farmers should have to pay, through their levies, for pest eradication on Department of Conservation-managed land. When contacted yesterday, Doc confirmed it did not contribute funds to the TBfree programme. The programme is funded by the Ministry for Primary Industries and farming industries. The government contributes 40% of the funding for the programme while the remaining 60% comes from the dairy, beef and deer farming industries which raise funding through the dairy milk solid levy, levies on all cattle slaughtered, levies on Deer Industry New Zealand meat and velvet and levies on live export of cattle and deer. Mr Ellis said their remaining affected stock had been isolated in one mob, so were not impacting any other stock on their property, and anything that tested positive with upcoming tests was likely to be killed. That could be up to 150 animals, which were breeding stock, and he would be pushing for compensation if that happened, he said. At the recent Hillbilly Hunt in Omarama, a fundraiser for the local rodeo club, Mr Ellis and two other local farmers provided a $600 cash prize for the highest tally of possums. The winning team shot 53 while the total number from all teams was 300. Twelve of those possums were kept for a post-mortem. Scott Hunter, manager of neighbouring Berwen Station, was disappointed with Ospri, saying there had been "no communication with farmers". "It's all been hush-hush and kept under wraps. They haven't approached it properly," he said. Ospri had failed to look at the "big picture" and how many people were affected, not only in the Omarama area but also further afield. It was understood some calves from the sale were destined for the North Island. There should have been a "big circle" around affected properties in the Lindis area and farmers now needed to know what Ospri was going to do with that area. "They've dropped that ball. It's a real cluster ... what's happened. It messes with a lot of people's businesses," he said. Responding to questions from the Otago Daily Times, Ospri general manager service delivery South Island Danny Templeman said a review of the movement control area would be undertaken. As of Monday, the number of infected herds in the Otago region was six; there was one infected herd in Omarama and two in the Lindis. Ospri had seen an upward trend of infected herds in Otago over the past 12 months and, because of that, there was an increased possum control programme being implemented. "Significant" ground control was being completed in the Lindis and in other parts of Otago. The largest portion of the South Island vector control budget was spent in Otago, Mr Templeman said. As Omarama was a large area, it was likely possum control would be implemented south of the Waitaki in coming years, he said. Asked what control was being done on Doc land and who was responsible for that control, Ospri said it was responsible for the eradication of bovine Tb from its main vector — the possum — so where possum control was required for Tb purposes, Ospri would engage with the relevant landowners whether that was public or private land. Asked whether the calves Mr Ellis bought should have been tested before the sale, given a neighbouring farm had Tb, Mr Templeman said infection was not identified beforehand in the herd the animals were moved from. "All testing on the herd was compliant and the movement of the infected animals was no fault of the owner. The origin herd was not located in a Movement Control Area and, as such, animals were not required to be tested prior to moving to the sale," he said. Calves at the sale had been traced using Nait and saleyard records and testing was either scheduled or completed, he said. Ospri was disappointed with the increase in infection and the impact that had on farmers and communities. It would be at the meeting tomorrow to discuss further options, he said.
Otago Daily Times
20-05-2025
- Business
- Otago Daily Times
Southlander a finalist
File photo: Sally Rae Southland farmer Grant Lightfoot and his edible bale netting are among the finalists for the 2025 Primary Industries New Zealand awards. Federated Farmers chief executive Terry Copeland said the awards celebrated the "movers and shakers" in the primary industry. Mr Lightfoot was named a finalist for the food, beverage and fibre producer award for creating edible and biodegradable bale netting made from jute — an environment-friendly alternative to plastic netting. The 7th annual awards ceremony is part of the two-day PINZ Summit to be held in Christchurch on June 24 and 25.
