Tuesday, 08 July 2025 11:23

That old chestnut

Written by  Milking It

OPINION: Just as it's healthy for cockies to get out of the shed and off the farm occasionally to get a fresh perspective, Milking It reckons some academics would benefit from spending a few days in the real world.

You can set your watch to it; when dairy farmers finally get a good farmgate price, some wonk will attack them for 'profiteering' on the domestic market because the price of their cheddar wedges goes up, Auckland uni professor Rob MacCulloch is just the latest to roll out the old socialist chestnut that farmers should sell locally at a lower price than they can get overseas.

No mention of the fact NZ dairy farms are privately owned businesses, built by hard-working risk takers; they're not communist state assets.

And when dairy farmers make a loss, the MacCullochs of the world are strangely silent.

More like this

Kiwisaver Boost

OPINION: Being a stock manager of a Government MP's farm can come in handy.

Domestic Focus

OPINION: After hogging the media limelight for telling a NZ Chinese MP to "go back home", Winston Peters has decided to focus on a domestic issue - oil and gas drilling.

A No-Brainer

OPINION: With fuel prices soaring, one would have expected most farmers to be reclaiming excise duty on petrol.

Floating Farm Sinks

OPINION: The world's first floating dairy farm, once hailed as a vision of farming's future, is up for sale after seven years.

Featured

National

Machinery & Products

» Latest Print Issues Online

Milking It

» Connect with Dairy News

» eNewsletter

Subscribe to our weekly newsletter