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.
The finalists in the first Primary Industries Good Employer Awards have been announced.
Attracting and keeping the best people working in our primary industries is one of the most significant challenges for the sector, Minister of Agriculture Damien O’Connor said as he announced the finalists.
O’Connor acknowledged those who have shown their commitment to good employment practices such as training, paying and treating staff well, and to those throughout the sector who contribute to these sustainable business models.
“Good staff are the foundation of all good businesses and I congratulate the finalists announced today who are doing their bit to keep their employees safe, motivated and with plenty of room to grow,” O’Connor said.
“I’ve met exceptional employers and workers across the sector and one particular message has stayed with me: ‘First we look after the people, then they’ll look after the animals, and everything else will follow.’
“Feeding the world and creating the best ideas in agriculture to build sustainable primary industries and a strong economy is a challenge to our brightest and best,” Damien O’Connor said.
The winners will be announced at Parliament in Wellington on 27 November 2018.
The finalists in the five categories are:
• Innovative Employment Practices
- Jenny Buckley and Dave van den Beuken, Jaydee Partnership
- Stewart Weatherstone, Rotopai Farms Ltd
- Ritchie Legge, Ravensdown Ltd
- Hew Dalrymple, Waitatapia
- Bert Hughes, Forest Enterprises Ltd
- Ben and Nicky Allomes, Hopelands Dairies Ltd
- Edith Sykes, Ballance Agri-Nutrients Ltd
• Employee Development
- Heather Remnant, At the Vets
- Ben and Belinda Price, Price Trusts Partnership
- Kevin and Kylie Ihaka, Forest Protection Services
- Patrick Malley, Onyx Capital Limited
- Justine Kidd, Theland Farm Group
- Julie Bassett, Constellation Brands New Zealand
• Safe And Healthy Work Environments
- Duncan and Anne-Marie Wells, Huntly Road Dairies
- Kevin Ihaka, Forest Protection Services
- Michelle Cherrington, Moana
- Craig Durbin, NZSF Waikato Farms Ltd
- James Trevelyan, Trevelyan's
•Māori Agribusiness
- Miraka
- Zac Te Ahuru, Ruapehu Agricultural Developments Ltd
- Aaron Kurei, Te Kaha Gold Spraying Limited
• Minister’s Award
- Michael and Susie Woodward, Woodward Farms
- Stephen Hopkinson, Taranaki Veterinary Centre
- Bruce Beaton, Kristen Nash and Maurice Windle, T&G Global, Pipfruit
- Ben and Nicky Allomes, Hopelands Dairies Ltd
- James Trevelyan, Trevelyan's
Whangarei field service technician, Bryce Dickson has cemented his place in John Deere’s history, becoming the first ever person to win an award for the third time at the annual Australian and New Zealand Technician of the Year Awards, announced at a gala dinner in Brisbane last night.
NZPork has appointed Auckland-based Paul Bucknell as its new chair.
The Government claims to have delivered on its election promise to protect productive farmland from emissions trading scheme (ETS) but red meat farmers aren’t happy.
Foot and Mouth Disease outbreaks could have a detrimental impact on any country's rural sector, as seen in the United Kingdom's 2000 outbreak that saw the compulsory slaughter of over six million animals.
The Ministry for the Environment is joining as a national award sponsor in the Ballance Farm Environment Awards (BFEA from next year).
Kiwis are wasting less of their food than they were two years ago, and this has been enough to push New Zealand’s total household food waste bill lower, the 2025 Rabobank KiwiHarvest Food Waste survey has found.
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