Editorial: O Canada
OPINION: The Canadian government's love affair with its lifestyle dairy farmers has got it into trouble once again.
THE NOW-DEFUNCT 'clean streams accord' is to be replaced by a new one called the 'sustainable dairying water accord', promoted by the Dairy Companies Association of NZ (DCANZ), DairyNZ, Federated Farmers and others.
DCANZ executive director Simon Tucker says the new accord will focus on riparian, nutrient and effluent management, water use management and dairy 'conversations'. He believes while the clean streams accord had its critics, overall it was successful for the industry.
"With that expiring this year, we thought we should be doing something new. We talked to a lot of farmers, Federated Farmers, the dairy companies, industry stakeholders, central government, regional councils, iwi groups and environmental NGOs to get their feedback. The consensus came back that having a successor to the clean streams accord was a good idea."
The final detail of the new accord is still being hammered out, but it will have a distinctive Land and Water Forum, (LAWF) look about it.
Tucker was a member of LAWF and says at a fundamental level one of the key messages from LAWF was that the best way to address water quality and quantity concerns was to do it collaboratively. This requires the industry to work with the regulators and other stakeholders.
"The LAWF report identifies the need for 'industry good management practices' as a key to improving water quality. This new accord is all about industry self improvement and the adoption of good management practice.
"We had conversations around the LAWF table about where the dairy industry was going with a new accord and received a lot of positive feedback about it."
Farmers in the Australian state of New South Wales will soon be able to use virtual fencing and herding technology to boost farm productivity.
Hawke's Bay teenage entrepreneur Hugo Moffett is helping the rural community access cheaper school uniforms, all without leaving their homes.
As part of preparing for a potential IPO in relation to the divestment process for its global Consumer business and integrated businesses Fonterra Oceania and Sri Lanka, Fonterra has named Anne Templeman-Jones as chair-elect of the Audit and Risk Committee for the Mainland Group board.
There's been a positive response to the Government's latest move to make freshwater farm plans more practical and affordable.
Massey University has begun trialling the use of superior beef genetics in its two dairy farms as part of Beef + Lamb New Zealand's dairy beef progeny test.
The annual Featherston Booktown Karukatea Festival – a fusion of books and storytelling - celebrates its 10th anniversary this year.
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