Post-quake study reveals hort potential
Large areas of North Canterbury and South Marlborough – affected by the 2016 Kaikoura Earthquakes – offer wide potential for horticulture.
Feds' general policy manager, Nick Clark says rural district councils affected by the earthquake will need considerable funding assistance from central government to get their infrastructure back in action.
He says this is because of their ‘thin’ rating base.
Clark says as well as the impacts on people’s lives and livelihoods, there will be significant economic ramifications, both immediate and long-term with the impacts will be felt locally and nationally.
The actual amount of damage and costs involved are still unclear and will take time to emerge. He notes that the scale of the disaster is immense and there has been severe damage to crucial transport and communications infrastructure, not to mention farms, businesses and homes.
Clark says the cost of repair and rebuild alone will likely be in the billions and then there is the cost of the disruption, including lost business.
There will likely be upward pressure on costs and prices and some current and planned projects may have to be reshuffled, Clark says. With transport routes disrupted, potentially for months, transport times and freight costs will rise and this will probably increase prices of goods and services used by businesses and consumers, especially in the South Island.
Clark says longer term, the earthquakes bring into stark relief the vulnerability of our transport and communication links and there will be much thinking over the coming weeks and months about how to make these links more resilient.
He says this could result in some tough decisions, including the potential to change the routes of roads, railways and shipping, which would have long-term impacts on affected communities.
South Waikato farm manager Ben Purua’s amazing transformation from gang life to milking cows was rewarded with the Ahuwhenua Young Maori Farmer award last night.
Bankers have been making record profits in the last few years, but those aren’t the only records they’ve been breaking, says Federated Farmers vice president Richard McIntyre.
The 2023-24 season has been a roller coaster ride for Waikato dairy farmers, according to Federated Farmers dairy section chair, Mathew Zonderop.
Ministry for Primary Industries (MPI) director general Ray Smith says job cuts announced this morning will not impact the way the Ministry is organised or merge business units.
Scales Corporation is acquiring a number of orchard assets from Bostock Group.
Family and solidarity shone through at the 75 years of Ferdon sale in Otorohanga last month.
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