Bridging the gap with rural New Zealand
OPINION: One thing I keep hearing from rural New Zealanders is the importance of relationships. Strong relationships don’t just happen - they take trust, consistency, and time.
"We urgently want more government support and certainty."
That's the call from the Horticulture NZ chair Barry O'Neil who says this is needed if growers and orchardists in Hawke's Bay and Tairawhiti are to fully recover to pre-cyclone levels of growth within the next decade.
His remarks follow the news that the Government is investing nearly $1 billion to aid recovery from cyclone and storm damage nationwide.
O'Neil says if the recovery doesn't speed up, more businesses will be lost from the horticulture industry. He says these businesses pump upwards of a billion dollars a year into the Hawke's Bay and Tairawhiti economies.
"While we are encouraged by statements that the Government wants to work with communities and industries like ours, this needs to happen as soon as possible - by June as the Government has promised - and not be a bureaucratic nightmare," he says.
O'Neil says it is not as if the Government is alone in spending heavily on the recovery. He says growers have invested millions in the recovery too, so they do not lose uninsurable biological assets like trees and vines, as well as talented and committed staff.
"What growers need now is more direction, for example, on land use, and alternative funding options if the horticulture industry is to get back to get back to pre-cyclone and Covid growth levels, and not lose what it has built up over decades. Our industry's focus is on the long-term."
O'Neil says HortNZ doesn't want to see the Hawke's Bay and Tairawhiti horticulture sectors needlessly lose their competitive advantage, as that will cost the regions and the country billions in lost jobs and export revenue.
Newly elected Federated Farmers meat and wool group chair Richard Dawkins says he will continue the great work done his predecessor Toby Williams.
Hosted by ginger dynamo Te Radar, the Fieldays Innovation Award Winners Event put the spotlight on the agricultural industry's most promising ideas.
According to DairyNZ's latest Econ Tracker update, there has been a rise in the forecast breakeven milk price for the 2025/26 season.
Despite the rain and a liberal coating of mud, engines roared, and the 50th Fieldays Tractor Pull Competition drew crowds of spectators across the four days of the annual event.
Nationwide rural wellbeing programme, Farmstrong recently celebrated its tenth birthday at Fieldays with an event attended by ambassador Sam Whitelock, Farmers Mutual Group (FMG), Farmstrong partners, and government Ministers.
Six industry organisations, including DairyNZ and the Dairy Companies Association (DCANZ) have signed an agreement with the Ministry for Primary Industries (MPI) to prepare the country for a potential foot and mouth outbreak.
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