ACC urges safety during spring calving
Dairy farmers around the country are into the busy spring calving period.
Organiser of the rural wellbeing programme Farmstrong say it has exceeded expectations in its first year, supporting on average 1000 people each week to live and farm well.
In its recently released ‘Making it Happen’ – an annual report-style document -- Farmstrong refers to its first-year reach, impact and successes, notably its website getting 51,451 unique visitors in the first year – reaching around 1000 people a week.
“We’re rapt with the way Farmstrong is tracking. We knew we’d make an impact for farmers and growers, but we couldn’t have dreamed it would gain this much momentum so quickly,” says spokesman Gerard Vaughan.
Other highlights from the report include:
6205 Facebook followers and 1100 on Twitter
31 Healthy Thinking workshops attended by 1122 farmers, growers and agri-professionals
1003 participants in the Farmstrong Challenge, travelling 633,216km
22 South Island rural comedy shows attended by 3150 people.
“These results show there’s a need for this kind of support in farming and farming communities in New Zealand.
“Before we launched Farmstrong we asked farmers what they wanted from a wellbeing programme, and we’re delivering on their requests with such topics such as sleep, nutrition, exercise and ways to get off the farm more,” says Vaughan.
“We want to congratulate and thank everyone who has got involved and taken something from Farmstrong.
“For us the most important asset on the farm is the farmer, and we’ll continue to deliver farmer-led programmes, initiatives and resources to support farmers with this.
“We’re only just getting started. We have a stack of great initiatives on the horizon and are keen to share these with all Kiwi farmers, to help more people live well and farm well.”
Canterbury farmer Michelle Pye has been elected to Fonterra’s board for a three-year term.
Farmers are welcoming the announcement of two new bills to replace the under-fire Resource Management Act.
The Government has announced it will immediately roll over all resource consents for two years, with legislation expected to pass under urgency as early as this week.
The New Zealand National Fieldays Society has achieved a major sustainability milestone - reducing its greenhouse gas emissions and reaching the target five years early.
Fonterra's 2025/26 financial year is off to a strong start, with a first quarter group profit after tax of $278 million- up $15m on the previous year.
Government plans to get rid of regional councillors shows a lack of understanding of the fundamental problem affecting all of local government - poor governance.

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