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Moving Day, which celebrates the first day of the dairy season in New Zealand, will go ahead as planned this year, but with strict controls amid the COVID-19 outbreak, New Zealand Agriculture Minister Damien O'Connor said on Wednesday.
On June 1 each year, the first day of the dairy season, a large number of dairy farming families, share milkers, contract milkers and employees move to new farms to commence new employment and milking contracts. This movement of people, their possessions, livestock and machinery is known as "Moving Day."
"This annual movement is a critical part of the dairy industry," O'Connor said, adding that the industry contributes more than 18 billion New Zealand dollars (10.75 billion U.S. dollars) a year in exports to the economy and provides jobs for around 46,000 people in rural communities.
"It's also an industry that will play a critical role in New Zealand's economic recovery after COVID-19, so it was vital that Moving Day went ahead," he said.
Since the Alert Level 4 lockdown was announced, and dairy farming was deemed an essential service, the government has been committed to finding a way to enable it to proceed, the minister said.
Activities need to be restricted to just those that are absolutely necessary and any movement around New Zealand must ensure people's "bubbles" are maintained, he added.
DairyNZ said this announcement will be a great relief to farmers.
"Moving Day is a key time in the dairy calendar so it's great that a solution has been secured with the government which will provide peace of mind for thousands of farmers. It means we'll move into the next dairy season in a way that keeps them and the public as safe as possible," said DairyNZ chief executive Tim Mackle.
O'Connor said New Zealand farmers are no strangers to disease eradication programs with strict movement controls.
(CGTN)
