Select committee 'blew it' - Feds
Sheep and beef farmers are urging the Government to do more to stop productive farmland overrun by pine trees.
Outgoing Federated Farmers leader Karen Williams says she will remain a Federated Farmers member.
She says the farmer lobby is doing an amazing job across nearly 40 policy areas with an increasing number and complexity of issues.
"People don't appreciate just how hard the staff and elected officials work on their behalf or how many submissions we write, hearings we attend and outcomes we influence by just being in the room."
She says Feds is a broad-church of members, and it tries to represent everyone as fairly as it can. But she adds that, like all representative bodies, it can't please all of the people, all of the time.
"But I would ask members, and those people who should be members, to hang in there with us, there is much work to be done."
Applications are now open for the Agri Futures Scholarships, helping young Kiwis from rural backgrounds kickstart careers in agriculture and rural sports.
Agricultural support giant PGG Wrightson will pay a dividend this year on the back of an improved performance buoyed by increased optimism in the sector.
Changes to resource management laws announced last week will spare thousands of farmers from needing an unnecessary resource consent just to keep farming.
Two Waikato dairy farmers and Federated Farmers leaders have thrown their hats in the ring for this year's Waikato Regional Council elections.
Buying a farm is challenging but still achievable according to research recently carried out by Smaller Milk and Supply Herds (SMASH).
A world-first public-private joint venture helping farmers cut emissions is set to have the first product from its investment portfolio - a methane-reducing bolus - available for beef farmers early next year.