Election Year Curse?
OPINION: The coalition Government seems to have chickened out when it comes to live animal exports by sea.
OPINION: This old mutt hears that Fed Farmers has instructed all its national executive to severe any personal ties they may have with any political parties.
This follows in the wake of former Feds boss Andrew Hoggard's move to stand for ACT this year and revelartions that he had been a member of the party for 3 years.
This led to criticism in some quarters about Feds' political neutrality and, by all accounts, fed into the current government's vindictive treatment of the organisation as its political enemy.
So, long story short, this has meant that a number of members of Feds executive have been resigning their memberships to political parties.
Funny how Feds members can't be members of a political party, but the current Government is happy to deal with various unions who are affiliated to the Labour party and pay hundreds of thousands of dollars in membership fees every year!
New Zealand's diverse cheesemaking talent shone brightly last night as the New Zealand Specialist Cheesemakers Association (NZSCA) crowned the champions of the 2026 New Zealand Cheese Awards.
Tracing has indicated that the source of the first velvetleaf find of the 2025-26 crop season, in Auckland, was likely maize purchased in the Waikato region.
Fish & Game New Zealand has announced its election priorities in its Manifesto 2026.
With the forage maize harvest started in Northland and the Waikato, the Foundation for Arable Research (FAR) is telling growers of later crops, or those further south, to start checking their maize crop maturity about three weeks prior to when they think they will start silage harvesting.
Irrigation NZ is warning that the government's Resource Management Act (RMA) reform risks falling short of its objectives unless water use for food production and water storage infrastructure are clearly recognised in the goals at the top of the new system.
More than five million trays, or 18,000 tonnes, of Zespri’s RubyRed Kiwifruit will soon be available for consumers across 16 markets this season.

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