Feds support live animal exports
Federated Farmers have reiterated their support for the coalition Government to abolish the present ban on the live export of animals.
Minister of Education Chris Hipkins concedes the timing of the Taratahi interim liquidation is tough, especially for students and staff, and he says supporting them is a top priority.
Hipkins says the TEC will work with Taratahi, NZQA and StudyLink to support students in alternative options. Staff will also be supported.
“The financial problems surfaced at Taratahi in 2014 when it was not providing the teaching it was funded to deliver between 2009 and 2014. As a result, Taratahi was left with debts of $7.5 million due to under-delivery – in addition to hefty private sector debt it had incurred. Taratahi has repaid $3.5m of that, mostly by selling assets, but this is not a sustainable model.”
Hipkins says the government is “taking steps” to secure the home farm and is talking to providers to fill the gap in provision for students. But he says it’s clear the current model for vocational training for primary industry is broken and that the government plans to solve this for continuity in training students.
“We are looking at new models of primary industry training as part of the Vocational Education Training Review.”
Minister of Agriculture Damien O’Connor says he’s saddened and disappointed that Taratahi, a proud agricultural training organisation, has been found unsustainable.
“I am committed to primary sector training. We will continue working with industry on a plan for agri sector training that meets the needs of the industry now and into the future,” he says.
A governance group has been formed, following extensive sector consultation, to implement the recommendations from the Industry Working Group's (IWG) final report and is said to be forming a 'road map' for improving New Zealand's animal genetic gain system.
Free workshops focused on managing risk in sharefarming got underway last week.
Annual farmer gathering, the South Island Dairy Event (SIDE), is set to make history as it heads to Timaru for the first time.
Installing 400 solar panels at their Taranaki piggery and cropping operation will have significant environmental, financial and animal welfare benefits for the Stanley family.
WoolWorks, New Zealand’s largest wool-scouring company, has partnered with the Lions Club of Riverton to help raise money for much-needed repairs to the Southland town’s swimming pool.
OPINION: The dairy industry will be a major beneficiary of a new free trade deal between NZ and the Gulf Co-operation Council (GCC).
OPINION: Was the ASB Economic Weekly throwing shade on Reserve Bank governor Adrian Orr when reporting on his speech in…
OPINION: A reader recently had a shot at the various armchair critics that she judged to be more than a…