Editorial: Making wool great again
OPINION: Otago farmer and NZ First MP Mark Patterson is humble about the role that he’s played in mandating government agencies to use wool wherever possible in new and refurbished buildings.
OPINION: Federated Farmers' latest farmer confidence survey results won’t surprise too many people.
Falling interest rates, rising incomes, stabilising farm input prices and more favourable farming ‘rules’ have all played a major role in that improvement.
It’s incredibly satisfying to see farmer confidence rebounding so strongly – to its highest point in over a decade and the largest one-off lift in farmer confidence seen to date. This is a cause for celebration.
However, the results are coming off a pretty low base. And as Federated Farmers points out, farmer confidence is now in positive territory, but there’s still a lot of room for improvement.
Farmers can’t control either interest rates or the farmgate milk price, so Federated Farmers and other industry organisations are using energy on what they can influence – making sure farming regulations are practical, affordable and fair. This means keeping the Government honest.
Not all decisions made by the Government help farmer confidence. For example, the recent Nationally Determined Contributions (NDC) announcement by the Government hasn’t gone down well with farmers as it would mean more pine trees on productive land. The Feds’ survey was carried out before the latest NDC announcement and one can bet that this almost certainly would have taken some of the gloss off the results.
Government rules and regulations have a significant impact on farmers’ costs and these costs really can make or break a season and have a significant impact on a farmer’s confidence to keep investing in their busi-ness.
Farmers have a simple message to the Government: “As a country, we’re never going be able to regulate our way to prosperity, but with the right policy settings, we might just be able to farm our way there”.
Recent rain has offered respite for some from the ongoing drought.
New Zealand's TBfree programme has made great progress in reducing the impact of the disease on livestock herds, but there’s still a long way to go, according to Beef+Lamb NZ.
With much of the North Island experiencing drought this summer and climate change projected to bring drier and hotter conditions, securing New Zealand’s freshwater resilience is vital, according to state-owned GNS Science.
OPINION: Otago farmer and NZ First MP Mark Patterson is humble about the role that he’s played in mandating government agencies to use wool wherever possible in new and refurbished buildings.
For Wonky Box co-founder Angus Simms, the decision to open the service to those in rural areas is a personal one.
The golden age of orcharding in West Auckland was recently celebrated at the launch of a book which tells the story of its rise, then retreat in the face of industry change and urban expansion.
OPINION: Should Greenpeace be stripped of their charitable status? Farmers say yes.
OPINION: After years of financial turmoil, Canterbury milk processor Synlait is now back in business.