Seeds of change
A proposed recycling levy on commonly used polyethylene woven seed sacks and bags is likely to come into effect next year.
Since starting up in 2007, the Agrecovery Rural Recycling programme has seen more than one million kilograms of container plastic recycled.
And the past 12 months have shown how much the programme is taking off. Provisional results show that in the 12 months up to June, 15,495kg of unwanted chemicals and 240,732kg of recycled plastic were collected by Agrecovery. That's a 50% jump in container recycling over a two-year period. What's more the recycling of this amount of product versus using new plastic, saves energy equivalent to 452,000 litres of petrol.
There are six regional collections held in Auckland, Bay of Plenty, Gisborne, Greater Wellington, Marlborough and Canterbury. The industry-good programme is New Zealand's solution for the disposal of unwanted agrichemicals (including those used in wineries and vineyards) and the recycling of empty plastic packaging.
Federated Farmers president Wayne Langford is claiming “some real success” on the 12 policy priorities it placed before the Coalition Government.
Federated Farmers is throwing its support behind the Fast-track Approvals Bill introduced by the Coalition Government to enable a fast-track decision-making process for infrastructure and development projects.
The latest report from ANZ isn’t good news for sheep farmers: lamb returns are forecast to remain low.
Divine table grapes that herald the start of a brand-new industry in Hawke’s Bay have been coming off vines in Maraekakaho.
In what appears to be a casualty of the downturn in the agricultural sector, a well-known machinery brand is now in the hands of liquidators and owing creditors $6.6 million.
One of New Zealand’s deepest breeder Jersey herds – known for its enduring connection through cattle with the UK’s longest reigning monarch, Queen Elizabeth II – will host its 75th anniversary celebration sale on-farm on April 22.