Wednesday, 30 April 2025 08:42

Cut with care

Written by  Milking It

OPINION: NZ farming is built on hard work, but also on innovation, a lot of which came about thanks to a focused scientific effort over many decades.

We can't afford to lose too much more of that sort of capability in ag science, so the cutbacks to scientific spending needs to be watched closely.

However, Milking It notes that not all science has been created equally in recent years, and Crusha Collins' axe deservedly fell on a lot of 'research' that should be relabeled as 'woke virtue signaling nonsense'.

This peaked with the $4 million Landcare Research handed over to see if playing whale song to trees could cure Kauri dieback - true story.

So, yes, take some of the scientific community's moaning about cuts with a grain of salt, but let's not throw the baby out with the bathwater!

More like this

It's all about economics

OPINION: According to media reports, the eye-watering price of butter has prompted Finance Minister Nicola Willis to ask for a 'please explain' from her former employer Fonterra.

Red line on dairy

OPINION: As India negotiates to open its borders to more global products, dairy is proving a sticky issue.

Farmland security

OPINION: Paranoia about foreigners is at an all-time high in the US and attention is now turning to foreign-owned farmland.

Featured

Fieldays calls for strategic investment in its future

A function at Parliament on 7th October brought together central government decision-makers, MPs, industry stakeholders and commercial partners to highlight the need for strategic investment in the future of Fieldays and its home, the Mystery Creek Events Centre campus.

National

McClay: “Go hard, go fast!"

Opening a new $3 million methane research barn in Waikato this month, Agriculture Minister Todd McClay called on the dairy…

Machinery & Products

» Latest Print Issues Online

Milking It

Winston's crusade

OPINION: A short-term sugar hit. That's what NZ First leader Winston Peters is calling the proposed sale of Fonterra's consumer…

» Connect with Dairy News

» eNewsletter

Subscribe to our weekly newsletter