KEY POINTS:
A dreadful double whammy of foot-and-mouth and now Britain's first cases of bluetongue - a disease which causes fever, ulcers and internal bleeding in ruminants including cattle, sheep and deer - has been dealt to our farming cousins up north.
The outbreaks should bolster the resolve of all parties involved in a Government review in New Zealand of the preparations for and potential responses to any incursion.
Jim Anderton, minister for both agriculture and biosecurity, says the ministry's ability to respond to pests and diseases could be improved by working more closely with industry.
A draft policy announced last week outlined a new framework for joint decision making and resourcing of responses that directly affected the primary sector.
"The policy essentially sets the baseline for MAF involvement in responses," Anderton says. "MAF's biosecurity interests extend beyond primary production.
"It is charged with protecting the economy, environment, human health and our whole way of life from biosecurity risks.
"This requires hard choices about how limited resources are allocated."
The discussion document says under the current approach Government made the key decisions and footed most of the bill.
"However, the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry considers that for activities that directly benefit industries, the current arrangement undermines certainty, equity, efficiency and effectiveness," the document says.
Industries had expressed concern that the current system created uncertainty about roles and responsibilities, whether MAF would respond to incursions of interest and that industry contributions were not adequately recognised, the document adds.
The new system intends giving industry more say on which pests and diseases are planned for, greater certainty for all parties about responses and cost-sharing and more efficient use of limited resources.
The proportion of public versus private benefit would determine the division of resources between Government and private industry.
The discussion document was the result of two years' work by a group including Government and a wide range of industry bodies, which should give the draft policy a solid foundation of support.
Everyone will agree on the need for effective biosecurity, while the drive for broad agreement on responsibilities and actions, and efficient spending is a winning ticket.
But deciding how to split the bill might not be so easy.
This is a multibillion-dollar sector so why shouldn't it pay for its own protection? After all, a homeowner wouldn't expect a security firm to monitor his/her house for free.
Then again, they would expect the police to keep their street safe, for which they pay taxes, and agricultural industries pay big taxes.
But that's the purpose of a discussion document - to generate discussion.
In the end there must be and will be agreement because agriculture is far too important to all our livelihoods - farmer or not - to argue about who was supposed to buy a fire alarm while the house burns down.
DISEASE SPREAD
The appearance of bluetongue in Britain has been linked to climate change.
The disease, which is spread by midges and can cause fever, ulcers and internal bleeding in ruminant animals, is more commonly found in warmer Mediterranean climates but may have travelled northwards aided by global warming.
MAF's draft policy for responding to pests and diseases acknowledges that climate change is extending the range of biosecurity risk organisms, while the growth of trade and travel also increases the probability of incursions through new and busier routes.
Visiting comedians make us laugh with jibes about our seemingly pedantic border inspections, but a burning pyre of cows would be no joke.
BEE MITE WINNING
The Varroa Agency - set up in 2005 to help to prevent the spread of the deadly varroa bee mite from the North Island - will start shutting down this month.
Its responsibilities include managing a monitoring programme, education and a permit system for border control with the North Island.
The withdrawal from battle comes after the bee-killing mite was found in Nelson last year, a decision by Government not to try to eradicate the pest from the South Island and finally beekeepers choosing not to pay a levy for continued surveillance.
Agency chairman Duncan Butcher says: "The onus really now goes back on to the beekeepers to do surveillance of their hives themselves."
Autumn surveillance completed in June shows the mite has not moved outside a controlled area around Nelson Marlborough.
Biosecurity New Zealand has control lines which run across the top half of the South Island, including measures to stop people moving bees.
Provided keepers do not flout the line of control or accidentally transfer the mite in vehicles, then the pest could be expected to creep southwards at the rate of about 14km a year.
For a large-scale beekeeper in an affected area with about 3000 hives, treatment for the pest can cost about $135,000 a year.
"We felt the incursion was small enough that they could have had a go [at eradication]," Butcher says. "We sort of feel perhaps the minister didn't get the good information to make his decision."
The agency would consult MAF Biosecurity on the transfer of border security. Butcher thanked beekeepers and councils for their support in the past three years.
FONTERRA FEEL-GOOD
The nearly 300 farmers who attended Fonterra's annual get-together in Hamilton last week were as engaged a group as chief executive Andrew Ferrier has seen during five meetings in charge.
"There's a rule of thumb that when times are good you don't get very good turnouts at your annual meeting and so I was actually pleased that we had, number one a good turnout, number two a lot of good questions and a lot of good comments," Ferrier says.
The nature of the co-operative meant farmers had their whole livelihood invested, which made them passionate about the business, he said.
Shareholders may have been passionate, interested and inquisitive - asking more questions on a greater range of subjects than would be heard at most annual meetings - but on the whole the board got an easy ride.
"But that comes and goes."
Farmers are a stoic bunch. Unless pushed to extremes they don't fuss.
The buzz around the meeting was one of general optimism and confidence in the sector, and support for the leadership.
And there was no grilling about speculation that the current capital structure review would result in a partial listing or about a takeover bid for Australian company Dairy Farmers - two rumours which have been swirling around Fonterra like flies at a cow pat.
Chairman Henry van der Heyden said: "You got no questions today [on the capital structure review] because they're very comfortable with the process."
The company does not plan to put the capital structure options considered and the preference out for consultation until next month and has been at pains to make it clear it will be a journey taken with farmer shareholders, not one forced upon them.
The last thing Ferrier wants to see at annual meeting number six is the steely glint of a pitchfork.
GO, SISTER
The Olives New Zealand best in show award for oil was dabbed up with a bit of crusty bread by newbies Four Sisters.
Andreas Paxie and Patricia Bolger only bought their 6.8ha grove, with 2100 trees, in Otaki in March. The winning oil came from the very first harvest.
"As newcomers to this industry, we are stunned by this award," Paxie says. "It would not have been possible without the generous help and support we have received from within the industry and from our friends and family."
The couple's four daughters are the inspiration for the oil's brand name - as the song says, "We are family, I got all my sisters with me."
