NZ Local Government Reform: Regional councils axed, CTBs proposed
The biggest reform of local government in more than 35 years is underway.
Generators are being organised for dairy farmers in the upper South Island so that they could milk cows, says Federated Farmers North Canterbury Dairy chairperson Michael Woodward.
He says farmers north of Culverden have been hit hard by the 7.5 earthquake and aftershocks.
Woodward told Rural News website that many farms were without power; there were also reports of rotary milking platforms damaged.
“We have been told herringbone milking sheds are okay; some rotary platforms were dislodged by the earthquake,” he says.
The biggest problems facing affected farmers are power supply and accessibility to farms.
“We are organising generators from farms in non-affected areas and making arrangements to send them to farmers,” Woodward says.
He says the hardest hit areas include Waiau, where damaged roads and bridges affect accessibility to farms; milk collection will be a problem.
“Road closures mean tankers will be going nowhere near some of the farms.”
The Government is set to announce two new acts to replace the contentious Resource Management Act (RMA) with the Prime Minister hinting that consents required by farmers could reduce by 46%.
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon says withdrawing from the Paris Agreement on climate change would be “a really dumb move”.
The University of Waikato has broken ground on its new medical school building.
Undoubtedly the doyen of rural culture, always with a wry smile, our favourite ginger ninja, Te Radar, in conjunction with his wife Ruth Spencer, has recently released an enchanting, yet educational read centred around rural New Zealand in one hundred objects.
Farmers are being urged to keep on top of measures to control Cysticerus ovis - or sheep measles - following a spike in infection rates.
The avocado industry is facing an extremely challenging season with all parts of the supply chain, especially growers, being warned to prepare for any eventuality.
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