Team effort to move mountain of waste plastic
Farm plastics recycler Plasback is helping an Ashburton business solve a daunting problem - cleaning up a massive stockpile of waste plastic.
A PROTEST march in Ashburton, April 21, against stubble burning failed to gain much support, with the local paper reporting attendance of “about 30”.
The march followed several weeks of letters and an editorial in the Ashburton Guardian on the practice. Organiser Vince Leonard was said to be “gutted” by the low showing. “It was an opportunity wasted but I told the people who were there that they had balls to put up with the way we were sworn at and abused,” he said, after the march and subsequent meeting turned ugly.
Federated Farmers Grain’s Mid Canterbury chairman David Clark told Rural News he didn’t attend the march or meeting, but the event highlights why cropping farmers need to use best practice when burning, and regard it as a privilege, not a right.
“I’ve spoken at length with the organisers of this protest and I am quite happy to front at any public meeting as long as there is some formality to it, with an appropriate chair.
“Everybody has a right to protest but farmers’ concerns are not going to be best served by engaging in a slanging match in the main street of Ashburton.”
The late, cool harvest concentrated the burning season into a handful of days this year, in not always ideal conditions, generating more smoke than normal.
Agronomically burning is a valuable tool and without it more agrichemical, nitrogen fertiliser and diesel would be used, he points out.
OPINION: Ministry for Primary Industries' situation outlook for primary industries report (SOPI) makes impressive reading.
Sheep and beef farmers Matt and Kristin Churchward say using artificial intelligence (AI) to spread fertiliser on their sprawling 630ha farm is a game changer for their business.
Commercial fruit and vegetable growers are being encouraged to cast their votes in the Horticulture New Zealand (HortNZ) board directors' election.
A unique discovery by a Palmerston North science company, Biolumic, looks set to revolutionise the value and potential of ryegrass and the secret is the application of ultraviolet (UV) light.
A New Zealand company is redefining the global collagen game by turning New Zealand sheepskin into a world-class health product.
With further extreme weather on the way, ANZ Bank is encouraging farmers and business owners impacted by the recent extreme weather and flooding to seek support if they need it.
OPINION: Dust ups between rural media and PR types aren't unheard of but also aren't common, given part of the…
OPINION: The Hound hears from his canine pals in Southland that an individual's derogatory remarks on social media have left…