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Primary Industries Minister Nathan Guy says the devastation in the South Island from the Kaikoura earthquakes was worse than he initially thought.
After flying over the area he says there is widespread devastation down the coast and inland and an estimated 100,000 landslips. Extrapolating that number of landslips through rural New Zealand, “it is massive”, he says.
He has seen faultlines through farms and cow sheds just “munted”.
“The devastation down there is bigger than I thought it would be. It will take a long period of time to help rebuild these rural communities,” he says.
They have announced a rural support package of $5 million – they know that won’t cover everything that’s needed.
“A real focus will be on those non insurable items on farm, we will fund the Rural Support Trust, we will fund some coordinators,” he says.
“I am very keen to see if we can get agricultural students from Lincoln and Massey and Taratahi over the summer months to work with the adverse events team from Federated Farmers who provide that coordination.
The initial focus was on human welfare, making sure farmers and families were looking after one another and their communities, animal welfare and restoring water supplies.
Winter grazing is looming again and the Ministry for Primary Industries says it's going to increase proactive farm visits and provide practical advice for farmers in the lead up to the season.
The Meat Industry Association (MIA) have announced the dates for the 2025 Red Meat Sector Conference.
The primary sector is welcoming the appointment of Dr John Roche as the Prime Minister's new chief science advisor.
A highly experienced agricultural scientist with specialist knowledge of the dairy sector is the Prime Minister's new Chief Science Advisor.
A group of meat processing companies, directors and managers have been fined a total of $1.6 million for deliberately and illegally altering exported tallow for profit.
Fieldays 2025 opens this week with organisers saying the theme, 'Your Place', highlights the impact the event has on agriculture both in the Southern Hemisphere and across the globe.
Sam Carter, assistant manager for T&G's Pakowhai Sector, has been named the Hawke's Bay 2025 Young Grower of the Year.
The CEO of Apples and Pears NZ, Karen Morrish, says the strategic focus of her organisation is to improve grower returns.
A significant breakthrough in understanding facial eczema (FE) in livestock brings New Zealand closer to reducing the disease’s devastating impact on farmers, animals, and rural communities.
Farmer co-operative LIC has closed its satellite-backed pasture measurement platform – Space.
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