Dear readers, we are happy to inform that we have finished analysing the feedback on our last year’s pilot launch of Multicultural Times (MT), New Zealand’s first nation-wide multicultural newspaper. As was the case with our Christchurch-based multicultural newspaper, The Migrant Times (TMT), MT too received innumerable accolades, appreciation and love from all of you. We are also very grateful to various communities, leaders, decision-makers and organisations from across the country who have shown immense faith in the idea of MT, and TMT before that. Based on the feedback, and after a lot of introspection, we have taken two strategic decisions to ensure that we continue to lead New Zealand’s journalism landscape towards diversity and innovation, while staying true to the basic tenets of the fourth estate. 1) The future of journalism is digital. We will continue publishing MT on our various digital media platforms and will cease publication of our print version. The reach, engagement and scope of innovation in the digital space is far superior to print. The financial viability is also superior in digital, due to the trade-off between the cost of production and results achieved. A better reach, engagement, innovation and viability, will ultimately lead to better-quality journalism for our society. 2) The future of journalism is data and artificial intelligence (AI). We are exploring how to use open data and natural language generation techniques to generate quality content and narrative stories, pertaining to local issues relevant to people’s everyday lives. We are immensely excited.

Stay tuned.

Open Day: LU Dairy Farm aims to reduce environmental footprint

Open Day: LU Dairy Farm aims to reduce environmental footprint

Migrants Centre
News, Economy

(caption for the above picture: The LUDT focus for 2015/16 season is low Nitrogen loss, low input, and nil infrastructure investment, while maximising profit)

- this came out at the Lincoln University Dairy Farm Open Day held on November 19; the 186 hectare irrigated property, of which 160 hectares is the milking platform, is a former University sheep farm

South Island dairying

All the above statistics are courtesy SIDDC. For more information, please visit siddc.org.nz.

  • Dairy farming - NZ’s largest single industry
  • 96% of New Zealand’s milk production is exported
  • New Zealand’s 12,000 dairy farmers work with or employ another 30,000 people on farm
  • Thousands more are employed in associated businesses and in dairy factories
  • Production – Over 1.83 billion kilograms of milk solids processed from 20.7 billion litres milk
  • Population–  NZ Average herd size 413;   11,927 herds;   4.9 m cows (2013/14 season)
  • SI average herd size 630 cows; 3,068 herds;  1,932,556 cows
  • South Island dairy production – fastest growing, now represents approximately 39% of total NZ milk solids production, from 23.8% of NZ’s herds and 35.8% of NZ’s cows
  • Overall the South Island has larger farms, larger herds, higher production per cow and per hectare
Converted to dairying in 2001, the dairy farm is managed by the South Island Dairying Development Centre (SIDDC), representing its seven partner organisations - Lincoln University, DairyNZ, South Island Dairy Farmers (represented by the South Island…

Converted to dairying in 2001, the dairy farm is managed by the South Island Dairying Development Centre (SIDDC), representing its seven partner organisations - Lincoln University, DairyNZ, South Island Dairy Farmers (represented by the South Island Dairy Event (SIDE) network), Ravensdown Fertiliser Cooperative Limited, Plant & Food Research, Livestock Improvement Corporation (LIC), and recently AgResearch.

Jim Moir, Senior Lecturer in Soil Fertility at the LU (seen on the left with a hat), educated the visitors on the Farm's objectives of ensuring the average annual concentration of nitrate-N in drainage water from below the plant root zone remains be…

Jim Moir, Senior Lecturer in Soil Fertility at the LU (seen on the left with a hat), educated the visitors on the Farm's objectives of ensuring the average annual concentration of nitrate-N in drainage water from below the plant root zone remains below the critical value [16 mg N/L] specified in ECan’s proposed regional rule

Grass - the NZ advantage: LUDF informed that ryegrass and clover pasture is one of country's key competitive advantages as it is grown most of the year and tolerates frequent grazing. "The clover content aids microbial conversion of atmospheric nitr…

Grass - the NZ advantage: LUDF informed that ryegrass and clover pasture is one of country's key competitive advantages as it is grown most of the year and tolerates frequent grazing. "The clover content aids microbial conversion of atmospheric nitrogen to plant proteins," it says.

Click on the image to enlarge it and read the printed version of the story

Education: International students well-being into focus in the South Island

Education: International students well-being into focus in the South Island
Festival: Celebrate Bishopdale!

Festival: Celebrate Bishopdale!