Federated Farmers vows to hold banks accountable after complaint dismissed
Federated Farmers is vowing to keep the big banks accountable for their actions and to continue pushing for meaningful change in the rural lending sector.
A partnership approach to dealing with river and lake water quality offers the best prospect of making sustained progress on problems often decades in the making, says the Feds.
Federated Farmers’ water spokesperson Chris Allen welcomes the announcement of an initial $44m in grants from the $100m Freshwater Improvement Fund, particularly as it will leverage a further $98 million of investment by councils, farmers, other land-owners and agencies.
In total, 33 projects covering more than 100 lakes and rivers have won funding, including at Lakes Tarawera, Horowhenua and Wanaka and involving the Manawatu, Wairoa, Waimea and Selwyn Rivers.
Environment Minister Nick Smith says the money will fund the fencing of waterways from farm animals, planting along streams, development of wetlands, sewage reticulation and water storage to increase minimum flows. There are also initiatives in the package to eradicate water weeds, remove pest fish and to retire marginal land adjacent to waterways.
"It’s great to have acknowledgement from the government that it’s expensive to restore water quality in these hot-spots to a level that meets the standards expected by government and all New Zealanders," Chris says.
"It’s often more than individual communities or sector groups can do on their own. We’re going to get there by working together, and this announcement is certainly a good step in the right direction."
"As Federated Farmers noted in its 2017 election manifesto, sustainable results, both environmentally and economically, will only be achieved with all members of the community, including farmers, working together catchment by catchment."
Funding deeds will now be negotiated with the successful applicants. Most of the projects are being overseen by councils, the Department of Conservation and environmental and iwi trusts but two multi-regional projects involve the Foundation for Arable Research (protecting our groundwater) and Beef + Lamb New Zealand (improving freshwater through enhanced outcomes on sheep and beef farms).
Rural health advocates say the Government's decision to establish a new medical school at the University of Waikato augurs well for the rural sector.
People affected by the recent two severe flood events in the Tasman district are weary and exhausted trying to deal with the devastation on their farms and orchards, according to the head of the Rural Support Trust (RST) in the region.
New Zealand milk production is off to a strong start, with the first month of the 2025/26 dairy season recording a whopping 17.8% jump in milk production, compared to the previous season.
With adverse weather set to rain down on the Top of the South, the Bay of Plenty and parts of Northland, Agriculture Minister Todd McClay says farmers, foresters, and growers need to prepare for possible challenges.
Keep up with innovation and e-commerce in China or risk losing market share. That was the message delivered at the China Business Summit in Auckland this month.
Meat Industry Association (MIA) independent chair Nathan Guy says getting meat processors involved has been a shot in the arm for the sector's key marketing initiative into China, Taste Pure Nature.
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