increase font size
New Zealand’s sheep and beef farming sector is critical to our country’s Covid-19 recovery. Photo: Paul Sutherland Photography.
OPINION: The biggest issue currently facing our industry is environmental policy, writes Beef+Lamb NZ chief executive Sam McIvor.
Farmers are passionate about being good stewards of their land and want to do the right thing. However, the scale and pace of new government regulations is impacting the financial viability of farming, affecting farmers’ confidence in their industry and having adverse effects on mental health.
In the next government term, we need to see improvements in the essential freshwater regulations to make the rules workable for farmers so they can get on with achieving the desired water health outcomes.
Meanwhile, the government must get fossil fuel emitters to reduce their emissions rather than just planting their pollution on our farms. Limits must be set on the amount of offsetting allowed in the ETS before it’s too late and further swathes of productive sheep and beef farmland are converted to forestry for carbon farming. The RMA isn’t the right tool to fix this problem, but we can work with the government on what is.
We acknowledge action needs to be taken on the environment, but there are farmer and industry-led ways to achieve positive outcomes without unwieldy rule changes – improvements in winter grazing practices over the past two years are a case in point.
We also need some breathing space for our sector and a halt on new environmental policies from the new government. We need to give farmers time to focus on implementing what has already been legislated in the last couple of years.
B+LNZ is working on a new farm planning process focused on the environment that will help farmers meet their regulatory requirements for water, climate change and biodiversity. These will also add value to their farm businesses and help meet customer needs. We want this farm planning process to be accepted as the certified farm plan for essential freshwater.
New Zealand sheep and beef farmers lead the world – we farm more naturally in our free-range systems and use fewer resources than our overseas, often highly industrialised, competitors. We need the government and officials to acknowledge this in the way they develop policy and not rely on overseas studies, and we need them to support us in telling our stories.
If we don’t address these and other important issues facing our sector, our ability to generate export income and support tens of thousands of New Zealand jobs will be jeopardised.
A new Indonesian school milk programme is expected to significantly increase the country's total dairy consumption, creating opportunities for New Zealand and other global dairy players.
Recent widespread autumn rain will have triggered the germination of subterranean clover seeds, and the resulting seedlings should be allowed to reach the 3–4 trifoliate leaf stage before grazing, says Beef+Lamb NZ.
A Māori-owned agribusiness helping to turn a long-standing animal welfare and waste issue into a high-value protein stream for the dairy and red meat sectors wants more industry support.
The vineyards at Pyramid Farm in Marlborough’s Avon Valley have never been run of the mill, with plantings that follow the natural contours of the land, 250 metres above sea level.
Horticultural prices are set to remain elevated this year, reflecting the balance between demand in key export markets and an increase in supply.
The country's second largest milk processor hopes to produce its first commercial butter within two months.
There's no doubt that vehicle manufacturers at Fieldays saw a steady stream of rural folk treading the boards.
Fonterra's co-op model and what it does for New Zealand has lured one of its bright stars back on board.
Farmer lobby Federated Farmers is reporting a growth in membership, for the first time in decades.
New Zealand's Ruminant Biotech says that while it has big goals, the scale of the problem it seeks to solve requires it.
The upheaval in the Middle East may have eased the fall in global dairy prices last week.
OPINION: ACT MP Mark Cameron isn’t everyone’s cup of tea, but he certainly calls it how he sees it, holding…
OPINION: Did former PM Jacinda Ardern get fawning reviews for her book?
