NZ Must Prioritise Food Security, Says HortNZ's Malley
New Zealand needs to make sure that it continues to focus on its own food security, according to HortNZ board member and blueberry grower Dermott Malley.
Primary Industries Minister David Carter says the Government is reviewing three forestry schemes to decide whether they need to be tweaked to encourage more forestry plantings.
This coincides with a fall in the international price of carbon from a high of $25 to the present low of $3 a tonne.
Carter says he's aware of the criticism about overseas carbon credits. "Anybody in the New Zealand forestry industry expecting a return out of carbon is obviously concerned. They are looking for ways to insulate New Zealand from the international carbon price. I personally believe we need to see more trees planted in New Zealand particularly in areas of the land which are eroding significantly."
Carter says the three schemes in question – The East Coast Forestry Project, The Hill Country Erosion Programme and the Afforestation Grant Scheme – are being reviewed.
OPINION: In politics, credibility is and should be big. It must surely rank higher than charisma, which is quite trite and superficial. Yet, voters nowadays are often wooed and influenced by how someone looks or talks at a superficial level. TV plays a huge role in this.
Farmers can spend less time on paperwork, thanks to a new data sharing agreement between DairyNZ’s DairyBase and LIC’s MINDA software.
Kaikōura families affected by July's severe storm have found a practical solution to a problem that's kept some children away from regular schooling for weeks: a washed-out section of Inland Kaikōura Road, which has stopped the local school bus from running its usual route.
Rural New Zealand is welcoming the Government’s recent package of rural healthcare initiatives.
Interest in agritech and production animal systems has prompted Massey University's School of Agriculture and the Environment to new majors to its popular animal science degree.
Ballance Agrinutrients chief executive Kelvin Wickham says despite a tough year, he is pleased the business has returned to profit.

OPINION: The same mainstream media muppets that brought you Jacindamania in 2017 have been flat out pimping for the Opportunities…
OPINION: Your old mate reckons the atrocious way farmers in the UK are treated by their lords and masters in…