Farmers oppose work visa changes
Farmers are crying foul over changes announced by the Government this week to the Accredited Employer Work Visa (AEWV) scheme.
Federated Farmers says they are pleased to see the Government’s approval of border class exceptions for a number of international agricultural workers for early 2022.
The border exceptions will allow approved workers to assist with the shearing and arable sectors over their peak busy period. The Government has also made some changes to the current dairy worker border exception, allowing more dairy farm assistants to meet the high demand for entry level staff around the country.
"For seasonal work such as shearing and the arable harvest it is essential that we bolster our local workforce with talent from overseas," Federated Farmers immigration spokesperson Chris Lewis says.
"We are also pleased to see the settings are being changed for the dairy border exception. Farmers across the country are asking for boots on the ground to help milk and feed livestock and the dairy assistant is the right role for doing this."
The Government’s announcement followed meetings and months of advocacy from Federated Farmers, DairyNZ, the Shearers Contractors Association, Rural Contractors NZ and Dairy Women’s Network to get an improved class exception process and staff on farm.
"Last week we met twice with ministers to give this another push and get messages across," Lewis says.
While the border exceptions have been approved, employers and their workers are still faced with a complex and lengthy process to get employees into New Zealand and working on farms.
“The border exception is just the first part of this process,” says Lewis.
"Employers and their workers will need to work closely with their respective industry groups to sort MIQ, flights and all the associated paperwork. This is not an easy or cheap task for either party, but with unemployment at such low levels this is really the only option for much of the primary industries at the moment."
Rural trader PGG Wrightson has revised its operating earnings guidance, saying trading conditions have deteriorated since the last market update in February.
It's been a bumper season for maize and other supplements in the eastern Bay of Plenty.
Leading farmers from around New Zealand connected to share environmental stories and inspiration and build relationships at the Dairy Environment Leaders (DEL) national forum in Wellington last month.
AgriZeroNZ, a joint venture fast-tracking emissions reduction tools for farmers, is pouring $5 million in a biotech company to develop a low emissions farm pasture with increased productivity gains.
Fonterra is teaming up with wealth app provider Sharesies to make it easier for its farmer shareholders to trade co-op shares among themselves.
Te Awamutu dairy farmers Doug, Penny, Josh and Bayley Storey have planted more than 25,000 native trees on the family farm, adding to a generations-old native forest.