Watermetrics appoints new sales engineer
Water data service provider Watermetrics has appointed Lee Hart as its sales engineer for lower Southland.
IrrigationNZ says it's concerned about political rhetoric around water storage and a cross-political party agreement is needed to advance the issue.
The national body representing irrigators and the irrigation industry was responding to comments from former Labour MP Stuart Nash that a future Labour Government wouldn't fund water storage developments.
"As water storage has multiple benefits, from improved river flows to more productive farms and job creation for towns and cities, we struggle to understand why some politicians continue to see water storage as a negative. It's far too important to be treated as a 'political football'. It's an investment in New Zealand's future and one we need to make now," says IrrigationNZ chief executive Andrew Curtis.
"All groups involved in the Land and Water Forum noted the importance of water storage and need for its further investigation. The political debate should focus on maximising the benefits and making storage affordable for communities."
In a year of significant drought, IrrigationNZ says it's even more apparent how much of the economy is driven by agricultural exports - and irrigation and water storage helps future-proof supply.
"We all want our supermarkets to offer a variety of quality produce at minimal cost. The drought is already biting with consumers experiencing high prices and limited supplies of some produce."
While irrigation benefited farmers, there were wider public benefits for all New Zealanders.
"Irrigation underpins the socio-economic well-being of much of New Zealand's east coast including Hawkes Bay, Marlborough, Christchurch, Mid Canterbury, South Canterbury and North Otago. There are a multitude of studies that support this. Internationally irrigation is used as a socio-economic tool to create prosperity for all – not just the irrigator. New Zealand has ample water supply. It's just not in the right place at the right time. Ignoring storage will have an unacceptable impact on our national wellbeing," says Curtis.
South Waikato farm manager Ben Purua’s amazing transformation from gang life to milking cows was rewarded with the Ahuwhenua Young Maori Farmer award last night.
Bankers have been making record profits in the last few years, but those aren’t the only records they’ve been breaking, says Federated Farmers vice president Richard McIntyre.
The 2023-24 season has been a roller coaster ride for Waikato dairy farmers, according to Federated Farmers dairy section chair, Mathew Zonderop.
Ministry for Primary Industries (MPI) director general Ray Smith says job cuts announced this morning will not impact the way the Ministry is organised or merge business units.
Scales Corporation is acquiring a number of orchard assets from Bostock Group.
Family and solidarity shone through at the 75 years of Ferdon sale in Otorohanga last month.