Greenpeace should lose charitable status - Feds
Federated Farmers is arguing for controversial environmentalist group Greenpeace to be stripped of its charitable status.
A top-level primary industries taskforce will work through Brexit issues, the Primary Industries Minister Nathan Guy told Federated Farmers.
He and Trade Minister Todd McClay and officials from MPI and MFAT plus people from DCANZ, Beef + Lamb NZ, the Meat Industry Association and Feds will steer the 'flexible' group advising and supporting formal government action.
Guy singled out biosecurity, calling on all New Zealanders to help protect the country from problem diseases and pests. He urged all primary producers to farm responsibly and he praised farmers for supporting the new bobby calf regulations.
"I acknowledge dairy farmers in particular have come a long way, investing $1 billion in the last five years to upgrade effluent handling on farms. And 96% of waterways on dairy farms are now fenced [but] you don't get acknowledged enough for what you have done.
"Now we want to work constructively with the beef sector on more fencing regulations. Consumers are more connected to what's happening inside the farmgate and our international markets are demanding more from us."
Guy called for an end to the "blame game" over water quality, a subject also touched on by Feds' president William Rolleston, who says farmers and townsfolk need to talk positively and work together to find solutions.
He accused news media of not focusing on good news. "I feel frustrated that the good news is so hard to get out and that bad news travels so easily. Some fantastic things are happening, but you don't see them splashed around the papers.
"The general public has always seen agriculture as being in a good space, but listen to the noise out there in media land and you probably get a different impression."
Rolleston says overall the mood of farmers is better than expected given the dairy payout, as evident at Fieldays. And he is pleased to see more younger people becoming active in Feds.
Two butcheries have claimed victory at the 100% New Zealand Bacon & Ham Awards for 2025.
A Taupiri farming company has been convicted and fined $52,500 in the Hamilton District Court for the unlawful discharge of dairy effluent into the environment.
The Climate Change Commission’s 2025 emissions reduction monitoring report reveals steady progress on the reduction of New Zealand’s climate pollution.
Another milestone has been reached in the fight against Mycoplasma bovis with the compensation assistance service being wound up after helping more than 1300 farmers.
The Government’s directive for state farmer Landcorp Farming (trading as Pamu) to lifts its performance is yielding results.
The move to bring bovine TB testing in-house at Ospri officially started this month, as a team of 37 skilled and experienced technicians begin work with the disease eradication agency.
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