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The farming sector has engaged in the national effort to draft a credible response to climate change so New Zealand is seen internationally to be doing its bit.
However, the reactions of the groups in the consultation suggest the goalposts have been shifted at the last minute, particularly for methane targets.
For example, Feds climate change spokesman Andrew Hoggard laments, “the 10% reduction target for methane by 2030 gives us a deadline for going beyond net zero more than 20 years earlier than for any other sector of NZ”.
It appears even National’s climate change spokesman Todd Muller was left out of the loop.
In fact, Climate Change Minister James Shaw took the highly unusual step of apologising to Muller for “some of the background process here which has not gone as I would have liked nor, in fact, as I intended”.
We can only guess what he’s referring to, but it’s clear that politics are going to drive the final outcome more than science.
Associate Agriculture Minister and Manawatu dairy farmer Andrew Hoggard says the free trade agreement (FTA) negotiated with India is not a bad deal and his party, Act, will support it when it goes before Parliament.
OPINION: Your old mate has long dismissed the Greens as wooden bicycle enthusiasts with their heads in the clouds, but it looks like the ‘new Greens’ may actually be hard-nosed pragmatists when it comes to following voters.
There was much theatre in the Beehive before the Government's new Resource Management Act (RMA) reform bills were introduced into Parliament last week.
OPINION: Among the many satisfying jobs on the farm is shifting our Angus heifers onto fresh pasture. They love it. Tails up, they gallop around for a minute, then it’s heads down — those long, raspy tongues pulling in mouthfuls of lush green feed.
While mariners may recognise a “dog watch” as a two-hour shift on a ship, the Good Dog Work Watch is quite a different concept and the clever creation of Southland siblings Grace (9) and Archer Brown (7), both pupils at Riverton Primary School.
Philip and Lyneyre Hooper of the Hoopman Family Trust have tonight been named the Taranaki Regional Supreme Winners at the Ballance Farm Environment Awards.
We are not a bunch of sky cowboys. That was one of the key messages from the chairperson of the NZ Agricultural Aviation Association (NZAAA) Kent Weir, speaking at an education day at Feilding aerodrome for 25 policymakers and regulators from central and local government and other rural professionals.
New Zealand's dairy and beef industries say they welcome the announcement that the Government will invest $10.49 million in the Dairy Beef Opportunities (DBO) programme.
New Zealand farming is riding a high, with strong prices, full feed covers and improving confidence lining up at the same time.
Manawatu Mayor Michael Ford says the district sees itself as the agribusiness capital of the lower North Island.
OPINION: Expect the Indian free trade deal to feature strongly in the election campaign.
OPINION: One of the world's largest ice cream makers, Nestlé, is going cold on the viability of making the dessert.
