DairyNZ: Strong payouts offset high farm costs
The dairy sector is in a relatively stable position, with strong milk price payout forecasts continuing to offset ongoing high farm costs, according to DairyNZ.
The Leader of the National Party is accusing Labour of painting farmers as villains and effectively the enemy, which he says is certainly not the case.
Christopher Luxon's comments came in the small Manawatū township of Rongotea at a dairy farmers' forum organised by DairyNZ.
About 100 people turned up for the event which was also used as a networking event. Luxon had earlier attended the Friday Feilding sale where he also met informally with farmers. His speech was not focused on specific farming issues so much as the lack of positive outcomes from government spending.
His time at the podium, to a largely sympathetic audience, was mainly spent trying to woo and assure the rural community that National always was, and still is, the farmers' party. It was unashamedly electionerring.
"We are back an dare serious about our commitment to the agricultural sector," he proclaimed.
Luxon then went on to say that NZ is an agricultural nation and this is something everyone should be proud of. He listed a series of statistics such as the fact that NZ feeds 40 million people, employs 350,000 people generates 80% of our exporter earning and for every man, woman and child generates $9,000 a year.
"That is a phenomenal record. We have seen tourists and education go backward post Covid; agriculture is more important to us than it's ever been and it should be celebrated."
Beef + Lamb New Zealand (B+LNZ) is calling on farmers from all regions to take part in the final season of the Sheep Poo Study aiming to build a clearer picture of how facial eczema (FE) affects farms across New Zealand.
New Zealand is closer to eradicating bovine TB than ever before, but possums remain a threat, says Beef + Lamb New Zealand.
Foreign Affairs Minister Winston Peters has joined the debate around the proposed sale of Fonterra’s consumer and related businesses, demanding answers from the co-operative around its milk supply deal with the buyer, Lactalis.
The ACT Party says media reports that global dairy giant Nestle has withdrawn from the Dairy Methane Action Alliance shows why New Zealand needs to rethink its approach to climate.
If there was a silver lining in the tragedy that was Cyclone Gabrielle, for New Zealand Young Grower of the Year, Grace Fulford, it was the tremendous sense of community and seeing first-hand what good leadership looks like.
New research could help farmers prepare for a future where summer rainfall is increasingly unpredictable and where drought risk is rising, no matter what.
OPINION: Dairy industry players are also falling by the wayside as the economic downturn bites around the country.
OPINION: Methane Science Accord, a farmer-led organisation advocating for zero tax on ruminant methane, will be quietly celebrating its first…