More rain needed in drought regions
Recent rains across much of the country have had little impact on some of the worst hit drought regions of the country - namely the top of the South Island.
Perhaps the biggest hinderance to farmers' wellbeing is their lack of social life, says former police crisis negotiator Lance Burdett, who has begun his tour of the South Island to encourage wellness.
Social life, exercise and sleep are the three things that keep all of us well, he says.
He says for farmers, exercise is pretty well covered by the daily running of the farm, but a lack of social life has the most impact on rural wellbeing.
Burdett, a former crisis negotiator with 22 years experience working with police – and the military, emergency services, prisons and the FBI – now runs a consultancy called WARN (wellness, awareness, resilience and negotiation). It provides tips and techniques for people to handle difficult situations by understanding what goes on in their’s and others’ brains.
Burdett will share his message in a speaking tour of 16 South Island rural centres arranged by the regional Rural Support Trusts with support from MPI.
He says there are two ways to “get things out of your head” – one is to speak and the other is to write. But for farmers the biggest problem may be isolation and not talking.
Burdett’s speaking tour will include three different programmes for various audiences: Rural Support Trust’s own people on how best to engage with their clients, a second for merchants and others who deal with farmers, and the third for farmers themselves.
The three-week tour starts in Timaru and Fairlie on May 6. It follows a successful tour of Central North Island regions last year. The full schedule is on the Rural Support website.
The country’s 4200 commercial fruit and vegetable growers will vote from May 14 on a new HortNZ levy.
Meat processor Alliance Group is asking farmer shareholders to inject more capital in order to remain a 100% co-operative.
A vet is calling for all animals to be vaccinated against a new strain of leptospirosis (lepto) discovered on New Zealand dairy farms in recent years.
Dairy
Rural banker Rabobank is partnering with Food Rescue Kitchen on a new TV series which airs this weekend that aims to shine a light on the real and growing issues of food waste, food poverty and social isolation in New Zealand.
Telco infrastructure provider Chorus says that it believes all Kiwis – particularly those in the rural areas – need access to high-speed, reliable broadband.