Federated Farmers Urges Farmers to Vote on November 7
With less than a week to go before voters choose the next government, Federated Farmers has a simple message to its members - get out and vote.
New Federated Farmers meat and fibre chair and board member Miles Anderson says he’d like to see the mainstream news media take a more balanced line on reporting farming issues.
Anderson recognises no one can dictate to journalists what to publish, he’d like to see more honest reporting.
He plans to reach out to other primary sector organisations such as Beef + Lamb NZ, DairyNZ, HortNZ and the meat processors to change things.
Anderson says it’s been a tough couple of years for his members.
“We have had poor lamb and mutton prices until this year and of course wool is in a disgraceful situation, but the farmers are fairly confident. The big question is whether the current pricing is to do with procurement or is market-based,” he says.
In his role as chair of meat and fibre, Anderson says he’d like to see a continuation of some of the projects set up by his predecessor, Rick Powdrell. These include a future-focused project looking at sustainable returns long term for the meat industry, and a project in the wool sector.
“We are also tied up in the water and nutrient debate and we have, I guess, been sidelined somewhat until now,” Anderson told Rural News. “This is because a lot of us are low emitters and thought that we were not going to be part of the solution, but we are part of the solution because we are part of the problem,” he says.
Will drones be the answer to tackling the problem of wasp and hornet nests high up in trees and other inaccessible places?
Canterbury milk processor Synlait has come through tough times and is now ready to scale up from a stable base, says its newly confirmed CEO Leon Fung.
NZPork says a ham made in New Zealand is not necessarily made from New Zealand pork.
Rural Contractors NZ says proposed changes to land transport rules for agricultural vehicles are a welcome response by the Government to out-of-date regulations which have seen members hit with huge fines.
With New Zealand’s greenhouse gas emissions in the spotlight, Auckland scientist Nathan Balasingham says there’s a better way to tackle the problem than shrinking cow numbers or fertiliser usage.
Massey University vice chancellor Pierre Venter says his institute is moving from a period of austerity into a growth phase, based on their new strategy.

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