There has been commentary recently, particularly in the Waikato area and in the South Island, about velvet leaf infestation. Some parties have attempted to put the blame for its appearance on farms on use of chicken litter or any fertiliser sourcing from meat chicken or layer hen farms. The argument being used by certain parties is that viable weed seeds from imported grains which allegedly contain velvet leaf survive the milling process and then are spread when the litter or fertiliser using layer faeces is spread on  properties, particularly arable farms. Below is a flow chart setting out the process that is followed by feed mills, and written information in italics. The key requirement is to ensure that viable seeds do not survive the milling process. The non-viability is achieved by grinding the grains and /or applying a heat treatment process. […]