Southland Farmers Given 18-Month Freshwater Farm Plan Reprieve
Southland farmers staring down a May deadline to submit freshwater farm plans under current regional plan rules have been given an 18-month reprieve by the Government.
However, across the ditch a leaked email from the Australian peak farmer body, National Farmers Federation (NFF), is directing its members to stay silent on a story linking the common farm chemical paraquat to Parkinson’s disease.
In a leaked email seen by the ABC, the NFF head office encourages its members to “avoid prolonging the story”.
The widely used herbicide has been under safety review by the chemical regulator since 1997. Last month, proposed regulatory changes were announced, which are open for public consultation until the end of October. However, not all farmers are abiding from the NFF directive. The leader of the Victorian state branch has ignored it, saying she believes a debate needs to be had about the safe use of the chemical and the health of farmers.
