Crazy
OPINION: Your canine crusader was truly impressed by the almost unanimous support given by politicians of all stripes in Parliament to the recent passing of legislation for the NZ/EU free trade deal.
The double-D’S were front and centre at Karapiro, Waikato, recently to promote a voluntary water quality initiative.
David Parker and Damien O’Connor, ministers for the environment and agriculture, respectively, joined industry leaders to endorse the Good Farming Practice-Action Plan for Water Quality 2018.
The plan was developed largely from principles set out in the 2015 Industry-Agreed Management Practices first applied by Environment Canterbury.
The voluntary initiative is led by Federated Farmers, Beef + Lamb NZ, Dairy NZ, Horticulture NZ, Irrigation NZ and people from regional councils and regulatory authorities.
The chief aim is to help make rivers swimmable and to improve the ecology of waterways, so the plan advocates good farming practices -- assessing individual and regional catchments, measuring and showing improvements and telling the public about progress.
At grassroots level this will see workable plans being drawn up to identify physical and topographical constraints, and identify land where cropping should cease because of erosion risks. The plan includes keeping accurate records of inputs and outputs, and managing run-off, sediments and nutrients entering waterways.
Environment Minister David Parker applauded the voluntary nature of the plan and conceded that regulation “might not be the b-all and end-all”. But he said rules and regulations would be part of the solution, as would better education and perhaps “pricing” to influence behaviour.
Parker’s former flatmate Minister Damien O’Connor noted “the need for guidelines in tune with the environment, and for a part of the social licence that allows landowners to operate”.
NZ agriculture and horticulture needs to be the best producer in the world, he said, with their output “food for people who care, produced by farmers and growers who care”.
The plan now is to spend the next two years enlisting farms and local and regional authorities in a campaign going through to 2030.
James and Debbie Stewart from Dairylands in Manawatu impressed judges and took out the 2024 Fonterra Responsible Dairying Award.
Manawatu farmers Will Hinton and Kali Rangiawha have scooped the 2024 New Zealand Share Farmers of the Year.
More bull breeders are using genetic tools according to the latest research.
Females are dominating the veterinary profession worldwide and many farmers are welcoming this change in the composition of the profession, says Britain's Chief Veterinary Officer (CVO) Professor Christine Middlemiss.
Fonterra has appointed a new chief financial officer, seven months after its last CFO’s shock resignation.
Horticulture NZ chief executive Nadine Tunley will step down in August.
OPINION: Canterbury milk processor Synlait is showing no sign of bouncing back from its financial doldrums.
OPINION: It seems every bugger in this country can get an award these days.