Beef scheme suspended

Press, Volume CXI, Issue 32564, 25 March 1971, Page 3

Beef scheme suspended

(From Our Own Reporter) WELLINGTON, March 24. The controversial dairy industry diversification scheme hag been suspended for the 1971-72 season.

Announcing this today, the Minister of Agriculture (Mr Carter) said that the brucellosis

eradication campaign would lead to heavy culling of dairy herds throughout the country —hence the suspension. “The scheme, which was introduced two season ago to stimulate dairy beef production, has achieved its objectlive for all present practical purposes, and the need to eradicate brucellosis as soon as possible has made the scheme impracticable at least for the immediate future,” Mr Carter said. “We shall need a high replacement rate of milking cows once the eradication campaign begins if the productive capacity of the national dairy herd is to be maintained at a reasonable level.” The Minister said that in the 1969-70 season 160,000 calves had been registered

under the scheme, and the total for the 1970-71 season would be about 260,000. The Government still be-

lieved in the principles of diversification, but the scheme was considered unrealistic for the time being. The suspension of the scheme was a logical step for the Government the chairman of the Dairy Board (Mr F. L. Onion) said today. When the scheme was introduced in the 1969-70 season milk production was high. “Since then, production has fallen sharply because of two successive adverse seasons. “Now, the introduction in the near future of the brucellosis eradication scheme is bound to cause some reduction in the milk production potential, and in view of this the need exists no longer for any scheme to divert dairyfarming resources away from milk. In our opinion the Government has acted wisely,” he said. The board had also asked the Government to remove the slaughter requirement on young female dairy stock already covered by the scheme, but apparently no decision on this has been made, said Mr Onion.