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Chris Lewis says the farming sector made the most gains when governments are less arrogant.
Outgoing Federated Farmers leader Chris Lewis believes successive governments have failed to give farmers the chance to resolve key issues facing the agriculture sector.
The Waikato dairy farmer says that instead of telling farmers what to do, the Government should let farmers figure out the solution.
He says the current Labour Government is doing the same: telling farmers how to resolve issues like sustainability and climate change on farm.
Lewis told Rural News that the last National Government, led by John Key, acted the same in its first few years in office.
"National Government were bit like this current governmnet during the first few years in office," he says. "Then they realised they had a bit of problem in the polls and that's when they became a really good Government to work with the Feds."
He says the farming sector made the most gains when governments realised they couldn't be so arrogant.
The Labour Government has been under fire from farmers for unloading a slew of policies on the agriculture sector around water quality, climate change and winter grazing.
The relationship between Labour and Feds has been testy in recent years.
Lewis says skirmished between Feds and government aren't unusual.
"We had issues with the last National Government; don't get me wrong we butted heads with them," he told Rural News.
Lewis says it took a long while for Feds to convince current government ministers to accept they got it wrong kicking the farmer lobby out of a couple of things.
"Feds sits squarely in the place of being between the over ambition of Government policy and the practical realities of a rural community."
Lewis says being allowed back into the fold by Labour means "there was some truth in what we were saying". But he admits that Feds could have delivered the message better and not been as blunt as they were.
Central Otago District Council (CODC) has voted against a plan to spread treated sewage sludge from Cromwell and Alexandra on farmland near Lauder, a decision Federated Farmers says reflects strong opposition from rural residents.
Federated Farmers has called on Central Otago District Council (CODC) to drop or vote down a plan to truck sludge from Alexandra and Cromwell to farmland near Lauder, warning it would compound an "outrageous" situation created by a separate council's decision weeks earlier.
Federated Farmers says new legislation replacing the Resource Management Act will cut red tape, unlock investment and help grow New Zealand's export-led economy, after the Planning Bill and Natural Environment Bill passed their third reading in Parliament yesterday.
Leading figures from the major political parties will be questioned on their primary sector policies at the Rural Issues Debate at Mystery Creek Events Centre, Hamilton, on 30 September.
Will the good times last? That's one of the key issues to come out of the latest Federated Farmers confidence survey.
Waikato milk processor Tatua has again declared a record milk payout to farmer shareholders, leaving other processors in the dust.
A Labour-led Government won’t be bringing back the controversial freshwater rules of 2020.
National’s much-touted free trade deal with India featured in the Rural Issues Debate at Mystery Creek, Hamilton on Wednesday night.
New Zealand's 2026-27 freshwater fishing season has opened, with anglers encouraged to head to rivers and lakes over the coming days as conditions look favourable across much of the country.
Central Otago District Council (CODC) has voted against a plan to spread treated sewage sludge from Cromwell and Alexandra on farmland near Lauder, a decision Federated Farmers says reflects strong opposition from rural residents.
Pāmu has released its FY26 Integrated Annual Report, reporting a Net Operating Profit of $113 million, more than double the $49 million recorded in FY25.
