94% of NZ farmers oppose Paris Agreement, survey shows
A survey of 2000 farmers shows 94% of respondents believe that remaining in the Paris Agreement for climate change is not in the country's best interest.
Environment Minister David Parker has labelled members of rural ginger group Groundswell NZ as “dinosaurs”.
The group was founded in 2020 by farmers Bryce McKenzie and Laurie Patterson in response to a series of regulations they says are “unworkable”.
Since then, they have organised three nationwide protests, including the ‘Howl of a Protest’ and the ‘Mother of All Protests’.
However, in a recent interview with Country TV, David Parker claimed the group was not a “widespread representation of farmer opinion”.
“Some of them, I’ve got to say, are dinosaurs,” says Parker. “They refuse to admit that there have been problems with the Intensive Winter Grazing that we’ve seen in Southland.
“Well, they’re just wrong. We know that, done poorly, intensive winter grazing where you have cows deep in mud results in a huge loss of sediment to the waterway and the difference between a 10 degree slope and a 15 degree slope is a two or three times increase in the amount of sediment that washes into the river when you have rain.”
He claims that most farmers were supportive of the Government’s policies on the practice.
“But there are some people who refuse to admit that there was ever a problem and also pretend that it would have cleaned itself up without rules,” says Parker.
Parker is quick to admit that there were valid criticisms of the draft versions of the winter grazing rules.
“The agricultural community complained that some of the rules relating to the depth of mud… was ill-precise, ill-defined and so we worked with DairyNZ, Federated Farmers in particular, and also the Southland Regional Council to do a new iteration of that.”
He says that most farmers have opted not to carry out winter grazing.
“They’ve chosen to do them on their flatter land rather than their sloping land, they’ve chosen to retire the swales, which might be the low point in a paddock, and leave that in a bit of grass to act as a filter for the sediment, and as a consequence the levels of compliance with those rules is much improved,” Parker claims.
“I think great progress has been made,” says Parker.
Get the full story on Country TV, tonight at 7.30pm on sky channel 81, or get 30 days FREE access, online and on demand at www.countrytv.co.nz.
Like many manufacturers around the world, European agricultural machinery and tractor manufacturers are currently operating in a difficult market environment. But they are heading to the world’s largest agricultural machinery event in Hanover next month with a degree of cautious optimism.
Established in 2021, the John Deere Technician of the Year Awards champion the important contribution parts and service technicians make to the Australian and New Zealand agriculture, construction and forestry industries.
Beef + Lamb New Zealand (B+LNZ) is calling on farmers from all regions to take part in the final season of the Sheep Poo Study aiming to build a clearer picture of how facial eczema (FE) affects farms across New Zealand.
New Zealand is closer to eradicating bovine TB than ever before, but possums remain a threat, says Beef + Lamb New Zealand.
Foreign Affairs Minister Winston Peters has joined the debate around the proposed sale of Fonterra’s consumer and related businesses, demanding answers from the co-operative around its milk supply deal with the buyer, Lactalis.
The ACT Party says media reports that global dairy giant Nestle has withdrawn from the Dairy Methane Action Alliance shows why New Zealand needs to rethink its approach to climate.
OPINION: Ageing lefty Chris Trotter reckons that the decision to delay recognition of Palestinian statehood is more than just a fit…
OPINION: A mate of yours truly recently met someone at a BBQ who works at a big consulting firm who spent…