Misguided campaign
OPINION: Last week, Greenpeace lit up Fonterra's Auckland headquarters with 'messages from the common people' - that the sector is polluting the environment.
OPINION: A third medical school is a step closer to fruition and that’s good news for the rural sector.
The Coalition Government should be commended for signing a memorandum of understanding with the University of Waikato last week.
Despite some parties’ opposition to the project, stats also tell us many GPs are planning to retire in the next 10 years, which will particularly impact provincial and rural communities already experiencing New Zealand’s biggest doctor shortages.
The Government has made it clear to the critics- the proposed third medical school will have a focus on primary care. The needs of rural areas will be taken into consideration and the Government envisages a fouryear graduate entry programme, instead of the existing six-year programs.
Federated Farmers president Wayne Langford says the 2025 Fieldays has been one of more positive he has attended.
A fundraiser dinner held in conjunction with Fieldays raised over $300,000 for the Rural Support Trust.
Recent results from its 2024 financial year has seen global farm machinery player John Deere record a significant slump in the profits of its agricultural division over the last year, with a 64% drop in the last quarter of the year, compared to that of 2023.
An agribusiness, helping to turn a long-standing animal welfare and waste issue into a high-value protein stream for the dairy and red meat sector, has picked up a top innovation award at Fieldays.
The Fieldays Innovation Award winners have been announced with Auckland’s Ruminant Biotech taking out the Prototype Award.
Following twelve years of litigation, a conclusion could be in sight of Waikato’s controversial Plan Change 1 (PC1).