Wednesday, 16 September 2020 11:26

DairyNZ's election wishlist

Written by  Staff Reporters

DairyNZ has released its ten policy priorities for the 2020 election and its The View from the Cow Shed report which provides policymakers with insight from the farm.

Here are excerpts from the report…

Invest in R&D for our primary sector to unlock more value and volume.

For the dairy sector to maintain its international competitiveness and make a greater contribution to New Zealand’s economy and environment requires a more strategic approach to research and development. This isn’t necessarily about investing more money but investing the existing pool of money more wisely through long-term strategic partnerships between government and the sector.

Set a clear strategy for science funding that is appropriately resourced to support farmers to reduce their environmental footprint while increasing profit.

The current research system isn’t working. It’s costly, cumbersome, and doesn’t direct funding to the areas that will really make a difference. Misplaced incentives prioritise piecemeal projects at the expense of long-term vision and co-ordinated effort.

Work with the sector to meet workforce needs through training and recruitment of Kiwis as well as skilled migrant workers.

Our primary sector faces both short-term and long-term workforce challenges that need to be addressed. Twenty six per cent of farmers surveyed said that they were rarely or never able to find staff with the skills and experience they needed.

Invest in rural broadband and improved mobile coverage to better connect our rural communities with New Zealand and the world.

Covid-19 is a timely reminder of the importance of digital connectivity in the modern world. But many of our rural communities still don’t have access to the services they need to stay connected and run their businesses.

Develop a national water storage strategy and invest in water storage to increase water supply in times of drought, enable land-use flexibility and unlock economic potential.

As a country there are huge opportunities for water storage to help increase reliability of water supply in times of drought, to enable land-use flexibility and farming within environmental limits, and to help regions unlock their full economic potential.

Develop and enforce a world-leading biosecurity system that is properly resourced, learns from our M.bovis experience and ensures everyone plays their part.

Biosecurity is of huge importance to our food and primary sector’s future – and for the future of our country. An incursion of foot-and-mouth disease would be devastating for our farmers, rural communities, and our economy.

Reform the RMA to reduce compliance costs for farmers, increase efficiency and drive better environmental outcomes.

A comprehensive reform of the Resource Management Act is long overdue and would be a positive step not only for farmers but all New Zealanders. The system has become unpredictable and inefficient for applicants.

Partner with farmers and support them to play their part to meet new environmental standards.

New Zealand farmers have a strategic opportunity to improve local environmental outcomes and meet the expectations of our global consumers – but success will require partnership and government investment.

Ensure targets for water quality improvements are fair and equitable, clear, scientifically robust and have pragmatic timeframes for implementation.

Healthy waterways are important to dairy farmers. We share the country’s aspirations to protect our streams, rivers, lakes, and wetlands and are working as a sector to deliver on environmental goals.

Review the methane targets in the Zero Carbon Act to ensure they are firmly grounded in science and align our international and domestic targets by applying a split gas approach to our Paris commitment and carbon budgets.

Last year, New Zealand took a world leading approach by legislating a split gas target in the Zero Carbon Act but failed to give farmers certainty by setting a broad range of 24 – 47% for methane reductions.

More like this

From Sky Tower to cowshed

Every morning dairy farmer Sam Waugh sees the Auckland Sky Tower through his window. It's a great reminder of one of his key life goals - giving young people from towns and cities insights into farm life.

Celebrating dairy farmers this International Women's Day

Siobhan O’Malley is a dairy farmer, innovator, businesswoman and community volunteer, an example of the thousands of Kiwi dairy farming women throughout New Zealand who multi-task every day to contribute positively to their communities.

Unique dairy farms open their gates

A dairy farm working to increase endangered skink numbers and a boutique farm selling milk in recycled bottles will open their gates to the public this Sunday.

Featured

Sheep drench resistance costly

Analysis by Dunedin-based Techion New Zealand shows the cost of undetected drench resistance in sheep has exploded to an estimated $98 million a year.

Dairy sheep and goat turmoil

Dairy sheep and goat farmers are being told to reduce milk supply as processors face a slump in global demand for their products.

Hurry up and slow down!

OPINION: We have good friends from way back who had lived in one of our major cities for many years.

National

Govt urged to reduce ETS units

The Climate Change Commission wants the new Government to reduce NZ Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS) auction volumes as son as…

Dairy sheep, goat woes mount

Dairy sheep and goat farmers are being told to reduce milk supply as processors face a slump in global demand…

Machinery & Products

All-terrain fert spreading mode

Effluent specialists the Samson Group have developed a new double unloading system to help optimise uphill and downhill organic fertiliser…

Can-Am showcases range

Based on industry data collected by the Motor Industry Association, Can-Am is the number one side-by-side manufacturer in New Zealand.

» Latest Print Issues Online

Milking It

Papal visit

OPINION: European farmers are going to extreme lengths to have their message heard.

Thai egg tarts

OPINION: The hustle and bustle of one of Bangkok's most popular fast food outlets may feel a world away from…

» Connect with Dairy News

» eNewsletter

Subscribe to our weekly newsletter