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OPINION: Legislation being drafted to bring back the controversial trade of live animal exports by sea is getting stuck in the cogs of Cabinet.
About 300 farmers and agriculture industry leaders turned up last night for the Rural Issues Debate in Hamilton.
Agriculture Minister (Labour) Damien O’Connor, Green Party MP Eugenie Sage, National ag spokesman Todd McClay, ACT candidate and former Federated Farmers president Andrew Hoggard, and former NZ First MP and Otago farmer Mark Patterson traded barbs on climate change, the Emissions Trading Scheme, water regulations and rural banking during the 90-minute event. The audience were not allowed to ask questions.
Sage, who is retiring from politics, offered apologies on behalf of Climate Change Minister James Shaw, who pulled out and opted to attend a finance debate in Queenstown last night.
The debate was organised by DairyNZ, Beef+Lamb NZ and Federated Farmers.
Feds president Wayne Langford told Rural News that he was pleased with the turnout – both in the audience and the political panel.
“It is very good of all the significant political parties to recognise the importance of the rural vote and show up tonight,” says Langford.
"None of the speakers held back in their views and the crowd took it very seriously, due to the state of the primary sector at the moment.
“All the speakers raised really good points and represented their parties well.”
Beef + Lamb New Zealand (B+LNZ) is calling on farmers from all regions to take part in the final season of the Sheep Poo Study aiming to build a clearer picture of how facial eczema (FE) affects farms across New Zealand.
New Zealand is closer to eradicating bovine TB than ever before, but possums remain a threat, says Beef + Lamb New Zealand.
Foreign Affairs Minister Winston Peters has joined the debate around the proposed sale of Fonterra’s consumer and related businesses, demanding answers from the co-operative around its milk supply deal with the buyer, Lactalis.
The ACT Party says media reports that global dairy giant Nestle has withdrawn from the Dairy Methane Action Alliance shows why New Zealand needs to rethink its approach to climate.
If there was a silver lining in the tragedy that was Cyclone Gabrielle, for New Zealand Young Grower of the Year, Grace Fulford, it was the tremendous sense of community and seeing first-hand what good leadership looks like.
New research could help farmers prepare for a future where summer rainfall is increasingly unpredictable and where drought risk is rising, no matter what.
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