Editorial: Sensible move
OPINION: The Government's decision to rule out changes to Fringe Benefit Tax (FBT) that would cost every farmer thousands of dollars annually, is sensible.
Federated Farmers says it welcomes a recent court decision which granted a stay on rules in the Southland Water and Land Plan until legislative changes can be made by government.
Following earlier court decisions, the plan would have required more than 3,000 Southland farmers to apply for an expensive resource consent to continue farming.
“Delaying legal processes until the Government’s proposed amendments to the RMA can be made is a pragmatic decision,” says Federated Farmers Southland president Jason Herrick.
“Requiring 3,000 local farmers to get a resource consent would have been nothing short of an impractical and expensive box-ticking exercise for absolutely no environmental gain,” Herrick says.
He says this would have been a significant cost for most farmers, ranging between $10,000 and $30,000 each, to continue day-to-day farming activities.
"We’re really pleased common sense has prevailed this week and farmers won’t need to waste their time or money jumping through bureaucratic hoops for no reason."
"The activist groups who initially brought this case, like Fish & Game and Forest & Bird, should be hanging their heads in shame," Herrick says.
"All they’ve done is stir up a whole lot of angst and uncertainty in our rural communities and I don’t think they’ve taken any accountability for that.
"Thankfully the politicians have listened and delivered a solution, and the court have put this stay in place so no more time or money is wasted while the law is being changed."
Managing director of Woolover Ltd, David Brown, has put a lot of effort into verifying what seems intuitive, that keeping newborn stock's core temperature stable pays dividends by helping them realise their full genetic potential.
Within the next 10 years, New Zealand agriculture will need to manage its largest-ever intergenerational transfer of wealth, conservatively valued at $150 billion in farming assets.
Boutique Waikato cheese producer Meyer Cheese is investing in a new $3.5 million facility, designed to boost capacity and enhance the company's sustainability credentials.
OPINION: The Government's decision to rule out changes to Fringe Benefit Tax (FBT) that would cost every farmer thousands of dollars annually, is sensible.
Compensation assistance for farmers impacted by Mycoplama bovis is being wound up.
Selecting the reverse gear quicker than a lovestruck boyfriend who has met the in-laws for the first time, the Coalition Government has confirmed that the proposal to amend Fringe Benefit Tax (FBT) charged against farm utes has been canned.
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…