increase font size
NEW ZEALAND FACES risks to its environmental and economic future if issues facing the sheep meat industry are not resolved, says Environment Southland chairman Ali Timms.
Timms says there is widespread and growing concern in the community about the dire situation of the sheep meat industry. She planned to discuss her concerns to the Minister for Primary Industries Nathan Guy yesterday.
"The minister needs to recognise that if the issues facing the sheep meat industry are not addressed the Government will face barriers in meeting its economic growth agenda, and regional councils will struggle to meet the water quality goals of the National Policy Statement on freshwater," she says.
Regional councils seek to balance environmental and economic gains, she says. Southland and many other regions around the country are facing water quality issues as a result of elevated nitrogen (N) levels. Recent estimates put the average losses of N/per hectare/per year in the Southland area at about: Dairy platform 30; intensive sheep/beef/deer farms 12; extensive sheep/beef/deer farms 6; dairy support (intensive winter grazing) 55
"It is clear that the generally less extensive nature of red meat farming really helps to lower the overall environmental footprint in rural Southland," says Timms.
Timms says she isn't asking for the Government to directly intervene, but she is pushing the case for national leadership because it will be difficult to meet the targets of the NPS without the sheep meat industry having long-term viability.
Environment Southland is welcoming this week’s decision by the Environmental Protection Authority (EPA) to approve the release of Blaptea elguetai, a leaf‑feeding beetle that will help control the highly invasive Chilean flame creeper.
Environment Southland is inviting feedback on two bylaws that play a critical role in safeguarding the region's waterways and ensuring the safety of the local community.
While the North Island is inundated with rain, Southland is facing receding water levels as warm weather and lack of rainfall continues.
OPINION: Recent media commentary from Southland Federated Farmers has raised concerns among our rural communities, particularly around Environment Southland’s approach to winter grazing inspections and nitrogen reporting. But let’s be clear, much of what’s been said simply doesn’t reflect reality.
Claims that some Southland farmers were invoiced up to $4000 for winter grazing compliance checks despite not breaching rules are being rejected by Environment Southland.
New Zealand's diverse cheesemaking talent shone brightly last night as the New Zealand Specialist Cheesemakers Association (NZSCA) crowned the champions of the 2026 New Zealand Cheese Awards.
Tracing has indicated that the source of the first velvetleaf find of the 2025-26 crop season, in Auckland, was likely maize purchased in the Waikato region.
Fish & Game New Zealand has announced its election priorities in its Manifesto 2026.
With the forage maize harvest started in Northland and the Waikato, the Foundation for Arable Research (FAR) is telling growers of later crops, or those further south, to start checking their maize crop maturity about three weeks prior to when they think they will start silage harvesting.
Irrigation NZ is warning that the government's Resource Management Act (RMA) reform risks falling short of its objectives unless water use for food production and water storage infrastructure are clearly recognised in the goals at the top of the new system.
More than five million trays, or 18,000 tonnes, of Zespri’s RubyRed Kiwifruit will soon be available for consumers across 16 markets this season.
OPINION: Election years are usually regarded as the silly season, but a mate of the Hound reckons 2026 is shaping…
OPINION: If farmers poured just a few litres of some pollutant into a stream, the Green Party and the wider…
