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Federated Farmers President Wayne Langford
Federated Farmers president Wayne Langford says the Coalition Government’s first budget unveiled yesterday has no frills or surprises.
“Just like the average farmer’s budget this season, the Government doesn’t have a lot of spare cash laying around to spend on nice-to-haves and optional extras,” notes Langford.
He says at an operational level, he was relieved to see all the non-negotiables were still there, with continued funding for things like frontline biosecurity, catchment groups and cyclone recovery.
“Unfortunately, that’s as far as the money stretched.
“I think it would be fair to say that when farmers are doing well, the New Zealand economy seems to do pretty well too – but times are tough. Money has been tight for most farming families for a while now, and it looks like that economic reality is starting to hit home for the rest of the country.”
Langford reiterated his earlier comments to media that that the road to New Zealand’s economic success”s isn’t paved with more red tape, regulation and compliance costs”.
“The road to our economic success is paved with more milk, meat, fruit and grain.
“We need to be unshackling the potential of our productive sectors, and those who get out of bed each morning to milk cows, shift cattle, harvest crops and pick fruit. Those are the people who create jobs and earn an income for our country that pays for all those other things like schools, roads and hospitals.
“Farmers aren’t looking for a handout. We just want the Government to continue to cut the unnecessary red tape and compliance costs that have been bogging us down for too long.”
Federated Farmers says almost 2000 farmers have signed a petition launched this month to urge the Government to step in and provide certainty while the badly broken resource consent system is fixed.
Federated Farmers says it is cautiously welcoming signals from the Government that a major shake-up of local government is on its way.
Keep focused on things that can be controlled on farm.
According to Federated Farmers, Environment Southland has mishandled the consent process for Waituna Lagoon, leaving the community with numerous bad outcomes.
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Three New Zealand agritech companies are set to join forces to help unlock the full potential of technology.
As the sector heads into the traditional peak period for injuries and fatalities, farmers are being urged to "take a moment".
Federated Farmers says almost 2000 farmers have signed a petition launched this month to urge the Government to step in and provide certainty while the badly broken resource consent system is fixed.
Zespri’s counter-seasonal Zespri Global Supply (ZGS) programme is underway with approximately 33 million trays, or 118,800 tonnes, expected this year from orchards throughout France, Italy, Greece, Korea, and Japan.
Animal owners can help protect life-saving antibiotics from resistant bacteria by keeping their animals healthy, says the New Zealand Veterinary Association.
According to analysis by the Meat Industry Association (MIA), New Zealand red meat exports reached $827 million in October, a 27% increase on the same period last year.
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