Nationwide rallies to be held to protest live export
As the new government considers lifting the ban on live exports, protestors are set to demonstrate against the policy.
A debt mediation scheme to help farmers in financial distress deal with their lenders starts today.
The Farm Debt Mediation Scheme will require creditors to offer mediation to farmers who default on payments before they take any enforcement action, says Agriculture Minister Damien O’Connor.
“Total farm debt in NZ is $62.8 billion – up 270% on 20 years ago. Farmers are especially vulnerable to business down-turns as a result of conditions that are often outside their control, like weather, market price volatility and diseases like Mycoplasma bovis and Covid-19,’’ says O’Connor.
“Farmers who operate a family business often don’t have the resources to negotiate their own protections when dealing with lenders. That’s where this scheme fits in – it supports the mental, emotional and financial wellbeing of farmers and farming families who find themselves in financial trouble.
“The scheme is about early intervention – where either the farmer or the bank have an ability to go and seek mediation, which is a far better option than forced foreclosure,” says O’Connor.
Two Approved Mediation Organisations, The Arbitrators and Mediators Institute of New Zealand (AMINZ) and Resolution Institute (RI) have been appointed to deliver the scheme.
Farmers wishing to access the scheme should visit the MPI website.
The Climate Change Commission wants the new Government to reduce NZ Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS) auction volumes as son as possible.
Southland-based Mataura Valley Milk can now lay claim to be the first all-electric dairy factory in New Zealand.
Dairy sheep and goat farmers are being told to reduce milk supply as processors face a slump in global demand for their products.
Meat co-operative Alliance Group has bagged four gold medals at the Outstanding NZ Food Producer Awards, achieving top honours for every cut entered.
There is increasing evidence that dairy demand is on the upswing, according to Rabobank senior agricultural analyst Emma Higgins.
Fertiliser use in New Zealand over the 18 months is about 25% down from what it consistently was for the previous decade or more, says Ravensdown chief operating officer Mike Whitty.
OPINION: Your canine crusader reckons moves by the new government to try and breathe new life into the country's ailing…
OPINION: This old mutt suggests the new government is going to have to move fast to rein in a number…