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OPINION: In the cities people are clambering over each other to get the first Big Mac or piece of deep-fried chicken, not to mention a ‘real’ coffee.
So fanatical were some individuals for a fast-food fix that they were stupid enough to risk undoing the good work of the rest of the country by not sticking to the rules of physical distancing.
Having said that, a few idiot politicians and community leaders have yielded to temptation and broken lockdown rules, setting a poor example.
Their actions are insulting to the rural community – farmer, growers, people who work in meat processing plants, packhouses and other facilities to provide food for these unthinking individuals. And don’t let’s forget all the other essential workers that are the unsung heroes of this crisis.
While some city folk are obsessed with feeding their faces, back on the farm, farmers, their staff and a host of other workers have been focused on feeding the cows and other animals that are suffering as a result of the widespread drought.
For these people COVID-19 is almost a distraction. Yes, they are fastidiously complying with health and safety rules which add extra time to their day but their focus is on sourcing feed, drying off cows, trying to get culls to the works and wondering what the farm gate milk price might be next year. They are also concerned about labour with world travel stopped at the moment: will they get the staff from overseas who play such an important role on their farms? And, of course, will the bank be kind?
Rural folk – and I don’t just mean farmers – have the added hassle of dealing with poor, sometimes non-existent broadband as they try to obtain goods online, bank online and home-school their children online. City folk use high speed broadband for ordering coffee and pizza.
Unbeknown to most kiwis, how farmers and growers manage their way out of the drought will have a profound impact on NZ’s economic recovery.
It is encouraging to see the Government putting additional funds this way, but the real dollars need to go the way of broadband.
This lack of quality connectivity is one of the greatest inhibitors to this recovery and our future.
OPINION: Welcome to the second annual NZ Dairy Expo at Matamata – an event created to bring together the best of the New Zealand dairy industry in a focused, grassroots environment where dairy farmers and rural professionals can meet, talk, compare products, and make smart decisions for their farms.
It's a bloody tough year for sheep farmers, but the worst may be over, and the future looks optimistic.
One of the country’s two largest supermarket chains is reporting that for the first time since the disruption of Covid, they have largely full supply on almost all fruit and vegetables grown locally.
Covid-19 took global shipping rates to mind boggling highs, but over the subsequent 12-15 months they returned to more sustainable levels. Fast forward to July 2024 and rates have nearly doubled over three months.
Horticulture New Zealand (HortNZ) chief executive Nadine Tunley says the industry-good body’s support for growers has proven to be multifaceted.
Among the regular exhibitors at last month’s South Island Agricultural Field Days, the one that arguably takes the most intensive preparation every time is the PGG Wrightson Seeds site.
Two high producing Canterbury dairy farmers are moving to blended stockfeed supplements fed in-shed for a number of reasons, not the least of which is to boost protein levels, which they can’t achieve through pasture under the region’s nitrogen limit of 190kg/ha.
Buoyed by strong forecasts for milk prices and a renewed demand for dairy assets, the South Island rural real estate market has begun the year with positive momentum, according to Colliers.
The six young cattle breeders participating in the inaugural Holstein Friesian NZ young breeder development programme have completed their first event of the year.
New Zealand feed producers are being encouraged to boost staff training to maintain efficiency and product quality.
OPINION: The world is bracing for a trade war between the two biggest economies.
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.
