increase font size
DairyNZ chair Tracy Brown.
Election years are always a concerning time for farmers, according to DairyNZ chair Tracy Brown.
She says they don't know what the outcome of the election will bring or how a change of government might impact their lives and farming operations.
Brown says DairyNZ has always worked well with whichever government is elected.
Her comments come at a time when the polls and even the most clued-up political junkies struggle to pick which combination of political parties may take the treasury benches in the November election.
So that no political party is in doubt about what DairyNZ and their members want, they have prepared a simple, easy-to-read booklet outlining very clearly what they want from an incoming government. The six key priorities they would like enacted are:
The document provides a graphic snapshot of the contribution the dairy sector makes to the NZ economy, including the value of dairy exports, the number of people employed in the sector and the fact that the total wages bill for the sector is $4 billion.
Brown says while dairy farmers understand that change is a constant, they are also looking for certainty and need policy that rewards investment and encourages innovation.
She says future success won't come from just producing more - it will come from producing more value.
"The next government has an opportunity to build on the progress farmers have already made. Getting policy settings right now will provide confidence to invest, to adopt new technology and continue creating value for NZ. Delaying action risks slowing that progress," she says.
Brown says dairy farmers have spent years investing in environmental improvements, animal welfare, better infrastructure, planting, effluent systems, genetics and more resilient farm systems.
"Farmers need government to be a durable and practical partner providing policy that gives them confidence in invest, encourage development and recognises dairy's critical contribution to NZ," she says.
The first major update to the Dairy Cattle Code of Welfare in more than a decade has been released, marking what DairyNZ describes as an important step in ensuring animal welfare standards continue to evolve alongside scientific evidence and on-farm realities.
Leading figures from the major political parties will be questioned on their primary sector policies at the Rural Issues Debate at Mystery Creek Events Centre, Hamilton, on 30 September.
OPINION: A founding principle of Groundswell NZ is that farmers, and people generally, should be provided with full and accurate information about regulations that directly affect them.
OPINION: Well, the silly season is upon us and all us politicians are running around shaking babies and kissing hands, or maybe the other way around.
As the election heats up, Organics Aotearoa New Zealand (OANZ) has launched its election scorecard designed to help voters wanting to support policies that grow organic and New Zealand's organic sector.
The Royal New Zealand College of General Practitioners (the College) and Hauora Taiwhenua Rural Health Network are calling for investment in a proposed new training pathway for rural GPs, warning that many rural practices are struggling to recruit while a large share of the existing workforce nears retirement.
Federated Farmers has called on Central Otago District Council (CODC) to drop or vote down a plan to truck sludge from Alexandra and Cromwell to farmland near Lauder, warning it would compound an "outrageous" situation created by a separate council's decision weeks earlier.
Synlait has swung to second-half profit as operations stabilise, but the dairy processor still posted a $75.4m annual loss.
LIC shareholders have elected a new North Island representative to the co-operative's Board, along with five representatives to its Shareholder Reference Group (SRG), following the company's Annual Meeting held in Invercargill.
Farmers across parts of Southland and South Otago are continuing to deal with difficult conditions after a prolonged run of wet weather, with pressure building around feed supply, stock management, pasture damage, farm infrastructure and everyday workloads.
Federated Farmers says it welcomes Labour's commitment to reviewing the Sharemilking Agreements Act, calling on other major parties to do the same.
OPINION: It seems Canterbury processor Synlait is still in the doldrums.
OPINION: Get offside with New Zealand First leader Winston Peters at your own peril.
