Greenpeace a charity?
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Farmers are crying foul over changes announced by the Government this week to the Accredited Employer Work Visa (AEWV) scheme.
Federated Farmers dairy chair and immigration spokesman Richard McIntyre says the changes “have caused a lot of concern and confusion”.
Many farmers rely on migrant workers to work on dairy farms and orchards. McIntyre claims the changes came into force immediately and will make things a lot harder for farmers who are trying to bring in staff from oversees.
The changes include a shorter visa length of two years with a maximum continuous stay period of three years, and the introduction of a 12-month stand-down period at the end of the visa. There are also new minimum requirements when it comes to skills, work experience, advertising roles, and engaging with Work and Income.
McIntyre says Federated Farmers do not support many of these changes and have written to the Immigration Minister, Erica Stanford raising concerns and requesting an urgent meeting to discuss them.
“We’re concerned that these sudden changes will put a number of farmers in a difficult and unforeseen situation where they are unable to fill roles this season,” he says.
“This is a significant issue. Staff shortages can have a huge impact on health & safety, mental wellbeing, and animal welfare.
“There is also a risk that the standdown requirement will create a situation where skilled employees, who farmers have invested in, are picked up by other countries.”
According to Federated Farmers the key changes to the AEWV scheme are focused on those migrant workers who are entering, or have entered, New Zealand to work in ANZSCO Level 4 and 5 skill level roles. These changes apply from 7 April 2024. They include:
Among the regular exhibitors at last month’s South Island Agricultural Field Days, the one that arguably takes the most intensive preparation every time is the PGG Wrightson Seeds site.
Two high producing Canterbury dairy farmers are moving to blended stockfeed supplements fed in-shed for a number of reasons, not the least of which is to boost protein levels, which they can’t achieve through pasture under the region’s nitrogen limit of 190kg/ha.
Buoyed by strong forecasts for milk prices and a renewed demand for dairy assets, the South Island rural real estate market has begun the year with positive momentum, according to Colliers.
The six young cattle breeders participating in the inaugural Holstein Friesian NZ young breeder development programme have completed their first event of the year.
New Zealand feed producers are being encouraged to boost staff training to maintain efficiency and product quality.
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