Feds support live animal exports
Federated Farmers have reiterated their support for the coalition Government to abolish the present ban on the live export of animals.
The Government needs to look at the issue of foreign ownership of businesses, says Ag Minister Damien O’Connor.
The likelihood of the sale of New Zealand’s second-biggest dairy cooperative, Westland Milk Products, is “personally of concern for me coming from the West Coast,” he says.
“But it is an indication of the level of interest in our agribusiness sector from offshore investors.
“They come from all over the world. There is a large amount of money coming out of Europe that can be and is looking to buy dairy farms. And so from a Government perspective we are taking a cautious approach to ensure we have, hopefully, some control over investment in our primary sectors and the wider economy into the future.
“We have made a call on farmland, and it will be very difficult for foreigners to buy that; we have made a call on houses but we have not made a call on businesses and that is one of the areas we need to look at.”
Fertiliser co-operative Ballance has written down $88 million - the full value of its Kapuni urea plant in Taranaki - from its balance sheet in the face of a looming gas shortage.
The Government and horticulture sector have unveiled a new roadmap with an aim to double horticulture farmgate returns by 2035.
Canterbury farmers and the Police Association say they are frustrated by proposed cuts to rural policing in the region.
The strain and pressure of weeks of repairing their flood-damaged properties is starting to tell on farmers and orchardists in the Tasman district.
The sale price of Fonterra’s global consumer and associated businesses to the world’s largest dairy company Lactalis has risen to $4.22 billion.
Alliance Group's proposal to sell a 65% shareholding to Ireland's Dawn Meats won't solve the red meat industry's structural problems, says former Federated Farmers meat and wool chair Toby Williams.
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