Consent Rollovers and $13b Savings: What the new RMA bills could mean
There was much theatre in the Beehive before the Government's new Resource Management Act (RMA) reform bills were introduced into Parliament last week.
Associate Agriculture Minister Andrew Hoggard was back on his dairy farm in Manawatu this summer break - his unique way of winding down
While many MPs have been busy taking holidays in maybe exotic places, for Andrew Hoggard it's back to his old job as a dairy farmer during the so-called 'summer break'.
He says he's been using the time to fill in for his staff as they take their holidays, but some of his plans have been thwarted by the rain which has been something of a constant in the Manawatu.
He says he planned to reinstate some fences that got taken down when he had new staff accommodation built on the property. But he says doing carpentry with power tools in the wet was not a goer and his plans were running behind schedule.
But the transition from Feds to Parliament has allowed Hoggard to indulge in politics for a little longer.
He admits that life without some involvement in politics would have driven him 'stir crazy' and forced him to watch TV news and scream at the television.
Parliament is described by some as a 'zoo' and Hoggard has his own unique way of winding down after a week in it.
"I call it tractor therapy - recreational cultivation - something that involves me going around and around in circles on the tractor. After spending all week listening to the screaming and squealing from across the aisle in Parliament, it's good to listen to the diesel engine just purring away," he says.
A Taranaki farmer and livestock agent who illegally swapped NAIT tags from cows infected with a bovine disease in an attempt to sell the cows has been fined $15,000.
Bill and Michelle Burgess had an eye-opening realisation when they produced the same with fewer cows.
It was love that first led Leah Prankerd to dairying. Decades later, it's her passion for the industry keeping her there, supporting, and inspiring farmers across the region.
Rangitikei Rivers Catchment Collective (RRCC) chairperson Roger Dalrymple says farmers in his region are taking a national lead in water quality awareness and monitoring.
One young couple is proving farm ownership is still within reach for young Kiwis.
Greenlea Premier Meats managing director Anthony (Tony) Egan says receiving the officer of the New Zealand Order of Merit (ONZM) honour has been humbling.

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