Farm Safety Improves Through 'Incremental Gain', Says Birkett
Improving health and safety is about incremental gain rather than a sudden decision, says Leeston farmer and Federated Farmers health and safety spokesman David Birkett.
South Canterbury farmer Colin Hurst has been elected as the new president of Federated Farmers.
Hurst, the current vice president, replaces Golden Bay dairy farmer Wayne Langford.
The election was held at Feds annual meeting in Auckland. Before the elections, the meeting went into committee to discuss a remit allowing Langford to serve a fourth year in the top job.
However, the remit was voted down and excluded Langford from the contest, paving the way for a two-way battle between Hurst and national board member Mark Hooper.
After his election, Hurst thanked members for their support and said he looked forward to serving in the new role.
There was a three-way battle for the post of vice president - board member Sandra Faulkner was elected.
Oamaru-based livestock handling specialist Te Pari has bought Combi Clamp, the New Zealand manufacturer of Combi Clamp manual sheep handlers.
Agriculture Minister Todd McClay has admitted that a scheme bringing workers from Pacific nations to work on orchards has become too hard to navigate but says changes are coming.
A new app designed in New Zealand aims to help sheep, beef and deer farmers capture, analyse and use body condition score data more effectively.
Canterbury farmer Andy Macfarlane has been appointed to the board of AgriZeroNZ, the public-private partnership designed to accelerate the development and deployment of emissions reduction tools for New Zealand farmers.
For over 50 years Mel Ewers has been supporting the apple sector navigate through compliance and quality assurance issues.
The apple sector is enjoying a bumper harvest season.

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