Rewarding farmers who embrace sustainability
Winners of DairyNZ’s Sustainability and Stewardship awards in the Ballance Farm Environment Awards have their eyes firmly fixed on progressing a positive future for New Zealand dairy.
Andrew Hoggard says claims that New Zealand dairy farmers are subsidised are false.
He says detractors of the dairy industry like to claim we are subsidised because of the negative externalities of our industry.
"To them I point out that in Europe those farmers get support payments for environmental issues whereas NZ farmers meet the full cost of those initiatives; the joint Federated Farmers – DairyNZ survey found that in the last decade NZ farmers had [spent about] $1 billion in environmental initiatives.
"People may also point to the irrigation fund as a subsidy. But when you have to pay it back it's called a loan not a subsidy."
Hoggard says he has seen plenty of other comments that NZ increased its production during the last decade, so why can't others?
"Yes, we increased our production but we did so based on the economic reality. The market, through increased prices, said it wanted more dairy, so we responded with increased production. Right now the market is saying the opposite, and at this stage we have responded and our production is down -- though with all this rain many of you... have received we may not be down by as much as predicted.
"If Europe wants to have a social welfare system for tractor driving beneficiaries that's its business but it becomes our business when that system has distorting and negative effects on world trade."
Waikato herd health veterinarian Katrina Roberts is the 2024 Fonterra Dairy Woman of the Year.
Trade Minister Todd McClay says New Zealand has no intention of backing down in a trade dispute with Canada over dairy products.
There have been leadership changes at the Hamilton-based Dairy Goat Co-operative, which has been struggling financially in recent years.
Horticulture NZ chief executive Nadine Tunley will step down in August.
OPINION: In recent years farmers have been crying foul of unworkable and expensive regulations.
Another 16 commercial beef farmers have been selected to take part in the Informing New Zealand Beef (INZB) programme designed to help drive the uptake of genetics in the industry.
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.