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Andrew Hoggard.
Feds' dairy chair says farmers must be on the lookout for upcoming issues.
Andrew Hoggard told his group’s annual meeting that environmental groups haven’t stopped paying attention, the trade unions haven’t moved on to something else and everyone else who is looking for a ‘dog to kick’ to raise their profile will target dairy.
He asked who knew that David Shearer was still in Parliament, until he made his comments on the price of milk.
Hoggard believes the biggest issue facing the dairy industry is the cap on nitrogen and how this is allocated.
“We have had calls for moratoriums on dairy conversions, but surely the priority needs to be agreeing on acceptable water quality standards for various catchments and then devising a fair and equitable allocation regime across all sectors.
“Coming up with such a system is the huge challenge we face right now and coming up with smart solutions in this space is where we need to be devoting our time,” he says.
According to the latest Federated Farmers banking survey, farmers are more satisfied with their bank and less under pressure, however, the sector is well short of confidence levels seen last decade.
OPINION: Federated Farmers has launched a new campaign, swapping ‘The Twelve Days of Christmas’ for ‘The Twelve Pests of Christmas’ to highlight the most troublesome farm pests – a serious issue that needs some urgent attention from the Beehive.
There was much theatre in the Beehive before the Government's new Resource Management Act (RMA) reform bills were introduced into Parliament last week.
Farmers are welcoming the announcement of two new bills to replace the under-fire Resource Management Act.
The Government has announced it will immediately roll over all resource consents for two years, with legislation expected to pass under urgency as early as this week.
Registrations are now open for the 2026 Ruralco Golf Classic, with all proceeds from the event set to support the Mid Canterbury Rural Support Trust.
Mating wrapped up last month at the across-breed Beef Progeny Test on Pāmu’s Kepler Farm in Manapouri.
Libby Judson is a keeper of memories from an age gone by. Tim Fulton tells her story.
A New Zealand-first native tree study has highlighted the Bioeconomy Science Institute's position as a forestry research leader.
Hemp fibre processor Rubisco is relocating its core processing facility to Ashburton as part of a $20-$30 million expansion to leverage what it says is an accelerating global demand for sustainable and renewable fibres.
Tradition meets some of the latest in technology at the 2026 East Coast Farming Expo.
OPINION: If the hand-wringing, cravat and bow-tie wearing commentariat of a left-leaning persuasion had any influence on global markets, we'd…
OPINION: With Winston Peters playing politics with the PM's Indian FTA, all eyes will be on Labour who have the…
