NZ meat industry loses $1.5b annually to non-tariff barriers
Wouldn't it be great if the meat industry could get its hands on the $1.5 billion dollars it's missing out on because of non-tariff trade barriers (NTBs)?
National says the government has turned its back on the major agricultural training provider Taratahi.
The future of Taratahi remains in limbo after it went into interim liquidation just before Christmas at the request of its board of trustees.
MPs Paula Bennett and Nathan Guy say the government is bribing students into tertiary education through its fees-free scheme and yet is allowing this large training provider to fold.
Bennett says this will hit hard the 900 students and 250 staff who were due to start and run courses at Taratahi this summer.
“We believe Taratahi approached ministers for $4 million to keep it afloat, but this government has failed to support it. Taratahi needed just a fraction of the $2.8 billion fees-free bribe or the $3b Provincial Growth Fund and yet ministers couldn’t find the money to keep Taratahi training students while it worked through its issues,” she says.
National’s agriculture spokesperson Nathan Guy says the performance of the primary sector is critical to our economy, and that depends on having well qualified, motivated and high-quality workers.
“We hope Taratahi can be salvaged. The agricultural sector is dependent on farming graduates to serve the industry. Taratahi plays an important role in providing those graduates,” he says.
Acclaimed fruit grower Dean Astill never imagined he would have achieved so much in the years since being named the first Young Horticulturist of the Year, 20 years ago.
The Ashburton-based Carrfields Group continues to show commitment to future growth and in the agricultural sector with its latest investment, the recently acquired 'Spring Farm' adjacent to State Highway 1, Winslow, just south of Ashburton.
New Zealand First leader and Foreign Affairs Minister Winston Peters has blasted Fonterra farmers shareholders for approving the sale of iconic brands to a French company.
A major feature of the Ashburton A&P Show, to be held on October 31 and November 1, will be the annual trans-Tasman Sheep Dog Trial test match, with the best heading dogs from both sides of the Tasman going head-to-head in two teams of four.
Fewer bobby calves are heading to the works this season, as more dairy farmers recognise the value of rearing calves for beef.
The key to a dairy system that generates high profit with a low emissions intensity is using low footprint feed, says Fonterra program manager on-farm excellence, Louise Cook.

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