Bikinis in cowshed
OPINION: An animal activist organisation is calling for an investigation into the use of dairy cows in sexuallly explicit content posted on social media and adult entertainment subscription site OnlyFans.
Horticulture Minister Nicola Grigg says she takes her hat off to all NZ growers for the hard yards they have put in over the last few years which have resulted in horticulture exports expected to reach the milestone of $8 billion this year.
She says this has happened even though the sector has had to deal with some terrible weather events including Cyclone Gabrielle.
"This 12% growth is absolutely amazing," she says.
The MPI Situation Outlook Report for Primary Industries (SOPI) released just before Christmas showed that kiwifruit exports this year will be worth more than $3.4 billion - up from $2.8 billion a year ago.
At the same time, applea and pear exports will make just over $1 billion. These figures are somewhat astonishing given that so much fruit has been under pressure from the after effects of Gabrielle and other adverse weather events, and in normal circumstances, these figures would likely have been higher.
Grigg points out that to ensure that this growth continues, it is important that parliament gets the regulatory settings right, removes red tape, gets consistent rules right across the country and listens to the grass roots industry.
"My job is to get out to the regions and meet with the various horticulture sector groups and take their feedback to parliament so that my colleagues and other ministers are aware of the needs of the sector I am charged with championing," she says.
Grigg says while each of the sector groups have their own individual issues, in essence they are quite similar to each other.
Labour is a common concern and that is why the Government had made change to the RSE scheme.
Access to water storage are high on the priority list, she says, which is why a review of the National Policy Statement on freshwater is being undertaken.
The other issue she flags is one of access to capital for the sector and points to the inquiry into the banking sector as one means of addressing this.
"My job is to keep advocating for the growth of the sector and, so long as we here in the parliament get it right and the sector has the ambition and fortitude, then the sky is the limit," she says.
Managing director of Woolover Ltd, David Brown, has put a lot of effort into verifying what seems intuitive, that keeping newborn stock's core temperature stable pays dividends by helping them realise their full genetic potential.
Within the next 10 years, New Zealand agriculture will need to manage its largest-ever intergenerational transfer of wealth, conservatively valued at $150 billion in farming assets.
Boutique Waikato cheese producer Meyer Cheese is investing in a new $3.5 million facility, designed to boost capacity and enhance the company's sustainability credentials.
OPINION: The Government's decision to rule out changes to Fringe Benefit Tax (FBT) that would cost every farmer thousands of dollars annually, is sensible.
Compensation assistance for farmers impacted by Mycoplama bovis is being wound up.
Selecting the reverse gear quicker than a lovestruck boyfriend who has met the in-laws for the first time, the Coalition Government has confirmed that the proposal to amend Fringe Benefit Tax (FBT) charged against farm utes has been canned.