Trop de Paris!
OPINION: Your old mate's ear has been chewed off recently by farmers voicing their displeasure with the National Party, particularly…
Beef + Lamb New Zealand chairman Mike Petersen challenged meat companies at its annual meeting in Wanaka this month. “Farmers want to hear for themselves the gains made by companies in the procurement and market areas; not in PR speak, but real numbers of real gains making a dollar difference to returns to farmers.” Rural News put this to the four big meat companies and a couple of others. Here are their responses.
Protest meetings in Victoria and South Australia, further planned demonstrations and a direct meeting have all left Federal Agriculture Minister Joe Ludwig unmoved.
AUSTRALIAN BEEF farmers are pushing the Gillard Government to restart free trade agreement talks with South Korea. Industry leaders visited Seoul this month seeking to resume talks with the South Koreans.
THE THREAT of climate change to global agriculture will be the focus of an international conference in the United States this month.
THE HOT dry summer is a boost for horticulture, but growers too need rain in the next few weeks.
THE 2013 year started with reasonable optimism. Dairy production was tracking nicely and dairy prices took off. For sheep there was hope that new Asian demand for lamb and wool would bring a move in the right direction. Meanwhile, the US drought last year meant demand for our beef, grains and produce were looking healthy.
FONTERRA FARMERS bought at least 100,000 posts in one week as part of their effort to reach the co-op’s stock exclusion goal.
AS MORE regions are declared drought zones farmers can only despair of ill-informed comment – mainly by non-farmers and big-city media – showing up the rural/urban divide. It’s a chasm.
THE HOUND hears that the ‘Green Rig’ – a mobile environmental display owned by Horizons Regional Council – has been sold to Auckland Council.
QUAD BIKES should not be portrayed as killing machines; they are simply part of an evolutionary process. Many of the news media critics of these magnificent machines have never been close to one.
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I’D LIKE to talk about what New Zealand has to offer and about innovation in the New Zealand primary sector.
DROUGHT BEHAVIOUR renders deeply questionable the concept of co-operative companies being for the benefit and fair treatment of shareholders.
NOW’S THE time to be hitting Californian thistles with chemicals down south, says Ravensdown, while in the North Island release of an – as yet – unproven thistle bio control continues.
EVER HEARD people talk about their “BHAG”?
The Hound
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