Dairy power
OPINION: The good times felt across the dairy sector weren't lost at last week's Beef + Lamb NZ annual meeting.
Beef + Lamb New Zealand has called on the Government to shelve plans to finalise decisions around the National Policy Statement for Indigenous Biodiversity.
It is also demanding an urgent review of the cumulative financial and social impacts of the Government’s environmental agenda on farmers and rural communities.
B+LNZ chief executive Sam McIvor says farmers are feeling overwhelmed by the tsunami of environmental and other regulations that have been rushed through in the last few years.
“Many are mentally exhausted – there’s just been no understanding from the Government or appreciation of the damage done by the scale and pace of change.”
McIvor says many of the rules in areas such as freshwater and climate change have been poorly thought through and the economic impacts of the changes are far more than what is needed to achieve the desired environmental outcomes.
“The NPS for Indigenous Biodiversity is another case in point. Leading biodiversity experts like Professor David Norton agree with B+LNZ that the definition of a Significant Natural Area is much broader than it needs to be and will tie up productive land in red tape and compliance and not achieve positive biodiversity outcomes.”
McIvor says the Government needs to stop and take stock of what it is trying to achieve and adjust its reform agenda to ensure the economy successfully recovers from COVID-19. “The Government needs to stop, listen to feedback and fundamentally change key policies before it’s too late.”
Movement controls have been lifted from Mainland Poultry’s Hillgrove Farm in Otago, after the successful eradication of H7N6 strain of high pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI).
Harvesting is underway of one of New Zealand’s rarest and most unusual fruit - persimmons.
Recent rain has offered respite for some from the ongoing drought.
New Zealand's TBfree programme has made great progress in reducing the impact of the disease on livestock herds, but there’s still a long way to go, according to Beef+Lamb NZ.
With much of the North Island experiencing drought this summer and climate change projected to bring drier and hotter conditions, securing New Zealand’s freshwater resilience is vital, according to state-owned GNS Science.
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