Farmers Miss Out on Fuel Excise Refunds, Says Farm Focus
Too many farmers put reclaiming excise duty on petrol into the "too-hard" basket, says farm accounting software provider, Farm Focus.
Now that drought has been declared by the Primary Industries Minister Nathan Guy, Inland Revenue says it will exercise discretion towards affected farmers.
The drought has been declared a medium-scale event on the east coast of the South Island from North Otago to Marlborough inclusive.
A spokesman for Inland Revenue told Rural News IRD will look at the financial situations of farmers to see how best to help them through this tough time.
Relief options include income equalisation deposits, for which discretion is allowed to make it even more useful, and assistance with the payment of tax when there is hardship.
The income equalisation scheme allows farmers to better manage peaks and troughs in their income by allowing money to be put aside from a better year and withdrawn against a not-so-good year. This preserves cash that can be applied for drought recovery and helps average tax rates for the year.
Farmer-owned fertiliser company, Ballance Agri Nutrients is welcoming National’s plan to negotiate security agreements with key supplier countries to protect New Zealand-bound products from export restrictions and greater supply chain certainty.
Carrfields has announced the appointment of Stu Hall to the newly created role of chief operating officer, Carrfields Ltd, reflecting the continued growth of their agribusinesses and the need to ensure the company has the leadership capacity and support in place as it pursues the emerging opportunities ahead.
New Zealand's role is not to compete with Indian growers, according to NZ Apples and Pears.
The potato industry is celebrating the success of two rising stars - James Blair, the 2026 Young Grower of the Year and runner-up and innovation award winner, Amber Davy.
Twenty-eight emerging leaders from across the horticulture sector spent two days last month learning valuable skills and connecting with industry experts.
There are five entrants in this year’s Young Horticulturist of the Year, competing in a series of technical, practical, business and leadership challenges.

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