Don't hold back!
OPINION: ACT MP Mark Cameron isn’t everyone’s cup of tea, but he certainly calls it how he sees it, holding nothing back when ‘climate scientists’ had a crack at Kiwi farmers recently:
ACT primary industries spokesperson and Whangarei dairy farmer Mark Cameron says one solution to rising prices in the supermarket is to reduce the rising production costs on farm.
The comments come just two weeks after Stats NZ announced grocery food prices rose 7.5%.
“Rabobank has warned that rising costs on-farm will flow into higher costs for consumers, while slimmer margins for farmers will also mean less spending within rural communities,” Cameron says.
“They have also described farmer confidence as being the lowest on record since the pandemic began.”
He says that while some cost increases are due to global issues, the deluge of regulations from the Government has had a compounding effect which he describes as “unnecessary”.
“Freshwater reforms, winter grazing rules, Zero Carbon Act, limiting migrant workers, other ideological climate policies, Significant Natural Areas, taxes on utes… the list goes on. Farmers have taken a hammering from this government,” Cameron says.
“As a dairy farmer myself, I know that farmers are best environmentalists around. We kept the economy going through COVID. It’s time the Government gave us a break.”
He says the ACT Party is calling on Environment Minister to extend the 1 November deadline for farm environment plans, something industry groups like Beef + Lamb New Zealand have also called for.
“The Government needs to remember that the more expensive and tough it is for farmers to produce, the higher prices will be at the checkout.”
Irish meat processor Dawn Meats is set to acquire a 70% stake in Alliance Group, according to a report in The Irish Times.
New Zealand's red meat sector says the United States' decision to increase tariffs on New Zealand exports is disappointing.
Waikato-Bay of Plenty farmer Hugh Jackson recently secured this year’s FMG Young Farmer of the Year title in Invercargill.
From nitrogen limits to ecosystem restoration –farmers and catchment groups are leading a new wave of environmental care, says DairyNZ.
OPINION: The Government's decision to stop local authorities going ahead with reviews of district and regional plans makes sense for several reasons.
With June ending and following the most upbeat National Fieldays for several years, tractor dealers are reporting a lift in sales.
OPINION: Your old mate's ear has been chewed off recently by farmers voicing their displeasure with the National Party, particularly…
OPINION: Your old mate hears that at a recent China Business Summit, PM Christopher Luxon delivered a none-too-subtle "could try…