Hawke’s Bay sheep and beef farmers warned to monitor stock water wells
Sheep and beef farmers in Hawke's Bay are being urged to keep a close eye on the wells that supply water to their stock.
A $54,000 grant to St John from Federated Farmers will help the organisation continue its important community work.
Federated Farmers made several grants from their Adverse Events Trust in September 2012, and St John was one of the recipients. The money came from individual farmers, meat company workers and meat and wool companies.
Federated Farmers' representatives Katie Milne (National Board Member) and John Hartnell (Chairman of the Bee Industry Group) visited the St John Regional Operations Centre to see the work of the ambulance communications centre, as well as have a look at a new ambulance.
Hartnell was recently awarded made a Member of the New Zealand Order of Merit for his services to bee keeping and also the community, especially for his work in helping to organise the Federated Farmers' Farmy Army after the February 2011 earthquake.
Federated Farmers National President Bruce Wills, was delighted St John was the recipient of the Trust's final and largest donation.
"As the first responder St John was the right choice to conclude our current efforts to support Christchurch," Wills says. "This donation is important because it will help St John to rebuild its emergency response resources. St John is a New Zealand institution and when the chips are down, it is always there for rural and urban alike."
St John Fundraising Manager Sarah Wilkinson says St John and Federated Farmers both have significant roles in rural communities across New Zealand.
"We'd like to thank John, Katie and the Federated Farmers teams for their support of us. Our organisation and Federated Farmers both know the challenges of working in a rural setting, and both organisations know how important the strong support and links within those communities are.
"St John is incredibly grateful to Federated Farmers and all their members who contributed for this support."
Pictured: St John Customers and Services Manager Christine Prince, Federated Farmers National Board Member Katie Milne, Chairman of the Bee Industry Group John Hartnell, and Emergency Medical Technician Grant Dewar.
The sale of Fonterra’s global consumer and related businesses is expected to be completed within two months.
Fonterra is boosting its butter production capacity to meet growing demand.
For the most part, dairy farmers in the Waikato, Bay of Plenty, Tairawhiti and the Manawatu appear to have not been too badly affected by recent storms across the upper North Island.
South Island dairy production is up on last year despite an unusually wet, dull and stormy summer, says DairyNZ lower South Island regional manager Jared Stockman.
Following a side-by-side rolling into a gully, Safer Farms has issued a new Safety Alert.
Coming in at a year-end total at 3088 units, a rise of around 10% over the 2806 total for 2024, the signs are that the New Zealand farm machinery industry is turning the corner after a difficult couple of years.

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