Farmer fury
OPINION: The new Labour Government in the UK is facing the wrath of farmers. Last week thousands of farmers and their supporters converged in London protesting changes to inheritance tax for farmers announced in the Budget.
Volatile input costs, fluctuating commodity prices, a reduction in direct payments and one of the wettest periods in decades that resulted in a disastrous harvest, have left their mark and many UK farming businesses worse off.
That's the New Year message from National Farmers Union president Tom Bradshaw.
He says to cap a wretched year, farmers saw a new Labour government, which, after 14 years in opposition, promised to reset its relations with British farmers and deliver a much-needed lift to farmer confidence.
"Instead, it delivered an inflationary budget and all but removed the tax reliefs for agriculture property and business property," he says.
"In all my years in the industry I've never experienced the anger, despair and sense of betrayal following the Chancellor's announcement to changes to inheritance tax, which has long protected farming's ability to pass on farm businesses to the next generation, thereby protecting food producing businesses and the nation's food security.
"We saw these raw emotions play out at our mass lobby of MPs in Westminster, the farmer rally in Whitehall, and at the various tractor protests in London and around the UK, with tens of thousands of farmers expressing passionately how this tax will devastate their businesses, families, rural communities and national food security.
"We are keeping up the pressure on government, targeting those rural labour MPs, and with a powerful visual reminder from the banners going up all over the UK that the fight is far from over."
Bradshaw says that pre-election, there were several policies within Labour's election manifesto that provided optimism, and "we all need to see those delivered and at pace".
A robust system of core standards for food imports is essential to protect farmers and consumers from imported food that would be illegal to produce here and allow the economic marketplace to function properly, rather than NFU members being constantly undermined, he says.
Farmer-owned co-operative Ravensdown is winding down the operations of its agritech subsidiary C-Dax following a long decline in sales.
The recent East Coast Farming Expo, held over two days at Wairoa, offered an insight into the current state of agriculture on the east of the North Island, at a time when the locals are remembering the second anniversary of Cyclone Gabrielle.
A Research programme supported by Beef+Lamb NZ is investigating the potential of ‘accelerometer’ sensors for early detection of conditions such as facial eczema (FE) in sheep.
In the past year, the Farmer Time for Schools programme which seeks to connect New Zealand school students with farmers, has experienced further growth.
Fresh Carriers Co. Ltd (FCC) and Zespri have completed the first ever kiwifruit charter powered by a low-emissions fuel.
New Zealand lingerie brand Rose & Thorne is expanding its virtual bra fitting service in an effort to provide rural women in with better access to specialised advice.
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