Dairy doubters, read this — Editorial

As election day nears, all those with political agendas, who for whatever reason dislike the dairy industry, will fall over each other to get the media’s attention. How better than to be outrageous, sensational and even untruthful. After all, why spoil a good campaign with honest hard facts?

No doubt the lame-stream media’s attraction to such sensation will prove irresistible and some rubbish will make it big on our airwaves and in our newspapers.

Thankfully however, DCANZ has come timely to the rescue by producing a simply factual stocktake of the dairy sector and in particular its economic impacts.

Many of the critics live in the larger cities and don’t see or understand how important the dairy industry is to many rural cities and towns. Hamilton, New Plymouth and Palmerston North are good examples of cities whose prosperity relies on an economically successful primary sector. And in dozens of small towns, e.g. Hokitika, on the West Coast, the dairy industry is a major employer.

The DCANZ report sets this out simply and clearly and all dairy farmers, especially those in leadership positions, should take the time to read it and memorise a few facts to trot out when someone starts criticising their industry.

Facts should be treated as sacred these days in a world encircled by purveyors of fake, false and heavily biased news and information.

We might wonder at times where they see communities’ wealth coming from. The cow and the management of this versatile animal is now the mainstay of the primary sector, like it or not.

The dairy industry has performed exceptionally well considering the political and international market challenges it’s faced. It has also got the message about value-add and is doing something about this, but there is room for improvement.

There are questions about whether farming as many cows as we do in NZ is appropriate. Fewer cows better fed and managed on a low cost system would probably achieve the same numbers. Signs of change are appearing.

The dairy industry may not be perfect, but without the cow the relatively high standard of living we enjoy in Aotearoa would not exist. God save the cow.