Editorial: Long overdue!
OPINION: The Government's latest move to make freshwater farm plans more practical and affordable is welcome, and long overdue.
Government policy settings are presently farmers’ biggest worry, says Federated Farmers president Katie Milne.
She told Rural News at the Feds recent conference in Wellington that farmers are concerned at the possible effects on their farms of the Zero Carbon Bill and water policies.
They are worried about not knowing what they have to do and about how policies will impact on them, Milne said.
“We also don’t think the regulatory impacts and cost benefit analyses have been properly done on a lot of these things, in particular the flow on effects they will have.”
Milne sees the farming sector as flat at present despite commodity prices being pretty good. A key objective of the Feds conference was to try to help the public and decisionmakers to better understand farming.
Feds joined forces this year with a commercial conference organiser which staged the event at Te Papa Museum, Wellington.
Their aim was to do something different and bring primary industries into Wellington to give attendees closer connections and enable collaboration and connections between politicians, academics, officials and agribusiness people.
“It’s gone really well. Very good feedback from everybody shows this format has worked,” Milne said.
The 2025 game bird season is underway with Hawke’s Bay and Southland reporting the ideal weather conditions for hunters – rain and wind.
A group of meat processing companies, directors and managers have been fined a total of $1.6 million for deliberately and illegally altering exported tallow for profit.
New Zealand’s top cheeses for 2025 have been announced and family-owned, Oamaru-based Whitestone Cheese is the big winner.
Waikato farmer, and Owl Farm demonstration manager, Jo Sheridan is the 2025 Fonterra Dairy Woman of the Year.
New Zealand’s special agricultural trade envoy Hamish Marr believes the outlook for the dairy sector remains strong.
Everyone from experienced veterinarians and young professionals to the Wormwise programme and outstanding clinics have been recognised in this year’s New Zealand Veterinary Association Te Pae Kīrehe (NZVA) awards.