Waikato farmers tackle debt as interest rates fall, says Zonderop
Waikato Federated Farmers dairy chair Matthew Zonderop says two consecutive years of a $10 milk price is fantastic for New Zealand agriculture.
A farmer lobby group says land-use restrictions proposed in the Waikato Healthy Rivers Proposed Plan Change 1 (PC1) could lead to fruit and vegetable shortages.
The Primary Land Users Group (PLUG) says it agrees with public comments on rising fruit and vegetable prices, and that many New Zealanders are struggling to afford enough fresh produce for a healthy diet.
PLUG co-chairman Bruce Cameron says when land-use restrictions on horticulture businesses affected by the Healthy Rivers Proposed Plan Change 1 (PC1) are taken into account, this will create serious food security problems into the future.
“A huge percentage of the country’s population rely on the Waikato region’s fruit and vegetable producers for security of food supply, and with the restrictions on horticultural land use imposed by the PC1 they will lose the security of supply that they now have.
“[Under the changes] the Waikato Regional Council has effectively declared that horticultural land use is a non-complying activity and should be prevented from expanding into new areas of the region. This will have the effect over time of reducing the amount of land available for horticultural production, so reducing the supply of fruit and vegetables.”
Cameron says the shortage will cause prices to rise and supply will have to come from outside the region. He says the new Government’s competition law will have little effect if there is no security of supply.
“And that is exactly what we will have as a result of PC1’s restrictions on the horticultural land use.”
Cameron says the new Government is also wrong to think that raising the minimum wage would make it easier for many parents to feed their children a healthy diet.
Under the land-use restrictions in PC1, the raising of the minimum wage, although in itself a great help to low income families, will not have any effect on feeding children a healthy diet because of a shortage of locally produced food.
“Food security is only one of the many economic challenges should PC1 be approved in its current form.”
Fieldays 2025 opens this week with organisers saying the theme, 'Your Place', highlights the impact the event has on agriculture both in the Southern Hemisphere and across the globe.
Sam Carter, assistant manager for T&G's Pakowhai Sector, has been named the Hawke's Bay 2025 Young Grower of the Year.
The CEO of Apples and Pears NZ, Karen Morrish, says the strategic focus of her organisation is to improve grower returns.
A significant breakthrough in understanding facial eczema (FE) in livestock brings New Zealand closer to reducing the disease’s devastating impact on farmers, animals, and rural communities.
Farmer co-operative LIC has closed its satellite-backed pasture measurement platform – Space.
OPINION: The case of four Canterbury high country stations facing costly and complex consent hearing processes highlights the dilemma facing the farming sector as the country transitions into a replacement for the Resource Management Act (RMA).
OPINION: The Greens aren’t serious people when it comes to the economy, so let’s not spend too much on their…
OPINION: PM Chris Luxon is getting pinged lately for rolling out the old 'we're still a new government' line when…