Europe attacks NZ farm practices

By LIAM DANN in Tumba

A New Zealand delegation came under vocal attack from European farmers on the final day of a dairy development conference in Sweden.

After a presentation on animal welfare in pasture-based farming by Dr Lindsay Matthews of AgResearch, the New Zealand industry drew a barrage of criticism for practices such as tail docking and the intensity with which pastures are grazed.

European farmers at the DeLaval Dairy Development Conference also argued that animals in New Zealand might be subject to sunburn and that walking to milking must cause chafing of their udders.

Matthews was specifically asked by conference organisers to talk about tail docking, a practice that is rapidly declining in New Zealand but has been banned in Britain.

One visibly angry British farmer said he felt New Zealand lagged behind on welfare issues and had an unfair advantage over European producers.

Fonterra director Greg Gent responded that New Zealand preferred to modify farming practices through research and education rather than regulation.

Southland farmer Gordon McKenzie pointed out that New Zealand cows were bred specifically for New Zealand conditions.

They had much smaller udders than European cattle and coped very well with a twice-daily walk to milking.

The incidence of lameness in cattle is much lower in New Zealand than in Europe.

The New Zealand delegates were almost lost for words when forced to justify the intensity of grazing and the amount of space cows were allowed.

"We're talking about 150 square metres per cow as opposed to 10 square metres in Europe," Matthews said. Most European dairy cows are kept indoors.

Gent later said he was surprised by the strength of feeling in the audience. He had been aware the New Zealand industry was seen as a threat but had not expected such a heated response. "It's fair to say we were under attack," he said.

Pasture-based farming had an extremely positive image with European consumers, but - feeling the pressure of World Trade Organisation talks and EU reforms - dairy farmers were anxious to find any weaknesses to exploit in New Zealand's position.

The conference had shown up a strong perception that New Zealand "had it good" and was taking away from other farmers, Matthews said.

New Zealand farmers did not have to deal with many of the difficult welfare issues that were faced in Europe but they could not afford to take the high ground, he said.

There were issues to deal with and though in reality they might not be hugely significant, as long as they were there, there would be people who tried to exploit them.

* Liam Dann visited Sweden as a guest of DeLaval.