Farmers hail changes to Resource Management Act
Changes to resource management laws announced last week will spare thousands of farmers from needing an unnecessary resource consent just to keep farming.
Nearly 60 exhibitors are lining up for this year's Waikato Effluent Expo at the Mystery Creek events centre near Hamilton next Tuesday 17 March.
Organisers hope that attendance to the event, which is in its fifth year, will top last year's figure of 650. Fifty-seven exhibitors have confirmed.
The expo – organised by Waikato Regional Council and sponsored by DairyNZ – is designed as a one-stop shop to support farmers wanting to upgrade their effluent systems or catch up on the latest advice. It is the only effluent-specific event in New Zealand.
Expo organiser Electra Kalaugher, of the regional council, says good effluent systems help protect waterways and maximise farm profits by making efficient use of the nutrients available.
Kalaugher says the fact it was the expo's fifth birthday showed the ongoing commitment people had doing a better job on the effluent front, to both protect the environment and improve farm profitability.
"The expo is a great chance to make sure you're up on the latest developments and advice from industry, and to plan improvements, even if you can't afford to spend up large this year".
About half the expo's visitors last year were farm owners who are responsible for major investment decisions regarding effluent systems.
This year the Mystery Creek exhibition hall and outdoor area will host companies displaying specialist machinery and equipment, infrastructure, and design and consultation services focused on effluent management. There will also be a range of seminars within the exhibition hall with more time for questions and discussion this year.
Indoor seminars will include seminars on effluent storage options and nutrients by DairyNZ, a seminar from Waikato Regional Council on effluent system monitoring, and a more interactive discussion session with Fonterra and DairyNZ on system upgrades in tight times.
A small outdoor grandstand will allow people to watch demonstrations of irrigation systems during outdoor seminars from AgVice. Along with the usual inside cafe area, a food area will also be available outside this year with picnic tables, Fritz Wiener hotdogs, and a coffee cart.
Besides sponsorship from DairyNZ, Kalaugher says Federated Farmers and milk companies were supporting the expo.
Most attendees last year were from Waikato, although some farmers came from as far away as Northland, Taranaki, and Wairarapa. This year the Bay of Plenty and Taranaki regional councils will be promoting the expo as a place for farmers in their areas to learn about developments in effluent management.
For more information, check out the Expo website at http://www.waikatoregion.govt.nz/Community/Whats-happening/Events/Effluent-Expo/
Meat co-operative, Alliance has met with a group of farmer shareholders, who oppose the sale of a controlling stake in the co-op to Irish company Dawn Meats.
Rollovers of quad bikes or ATVs towing calf milk trailers have typically prompted a Safety Alert from Safer Farms, the industry-led organisation dedicated to fostering a safer farming culture across New Zealand.
The Government has announced it has invested $8 million in lower methane dairy genetics research.
A group of Kiwi farmers are urging Alliance farmer-shareholders to vote against a deal that would see the red meat co-operative sell approximately $270 million in shares to Ireland's Dawn Meats.
In a few hundred words it's impossible to adequately describe the outstanding contribution that James Brendan Bolger made to New Zealand since he first entered politics in 1972.
Dawn Meats is set to increase its proposed investment in Alliance Group by up to $25 million following stronger than forecast year-end results by Alliance.
OPINION: Voting is underway for Fonterra’s divestment proposal, with shareholders deciding whether or not sell its consumer brands business.
OPINION: Politicians and Wellington bureaucrats should take a leaf out of the book of Canterbury District Police Commander Superintendent Tony Hill.