Changing Drains Into Ecosystems
A drain is sometimes considered a negative word associated with depletion, exhaustion and loss of resources.
A mate of the Hound attended the huge meeting in Timaru, last month, on the Government’s proposed freshwater reforms. Hundreds of anxious farmers turned up to hear officials – as well as Agriculture Minister Damien O’Connor and Environment Minister David Parker – discuss the topic.
He says meeting attendees were urged by the facilitator, Wairarapa sheep and beef farmer David Nelson, to be respectful and courteous and he says they were.
But our observer reckons both Parker and O’Connor seemed to have missed this memo and were, more often than not, antagonistic and dismissive of many of the questions and concerns raised from the floor.
He is unsure of exactly what the ministers were on that night but suggests that in future they both cut down on ‘angry pills’ before they attend any future farmer meetings.
While the District Field Days brought with it a welcome dose of sunshine, it also attracted a significant cohort of sitting members from the Beehive – as one might expect in an election year.
Irish Minister of State of Agriculture, Noel Grealish was in New Zealand recently for an official visit.
While not all sibling rivalries come to blows, one headline event at the recent New Zealand Rural Games held in Palmerston North certainly did, when reigning World Champion Jack Jordan was denied the opportunity of defending his world title in Europe later this year, after being beaten by his big brother’s superior axle blows, at the Stihl Timbersports Nationals.
AgriZeroNZ has invested $5.1 million in Australian company Rumin8 to accelerate development of its methane-reducing products for cattle and bring them to New Zealand.
Farmers want more direct, accurate information about both fuel and fertiliser supply.
A bull on a freight plane sounds like the start of a joke, but for Ian Bryant, it is a fond memory of days gone by.

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