False advice
OPINION: Rural communities should take their advice from health professionals, not Greenpeace, says Federated Farmers.
This old mutt has been a long-time critic of the multi-national, tax-dodging, political activist group Greenpeace for its sustained and never-ending attacks on the New Zealand farming sector.
So, your old mate was not surprised to see the group’s latest anti-farming campaign, this time calling for a ban on the use of nitrogen fertilisers.
Greenpeace is nothing if not consistent in its hatred of farming, having spent the last few years blaming the agricultural sector for polluting the country’s waterways and rivers, campaigning against irrigation and criticising agriculture’s greenhouse gas emissions. However, what the Dutch-headquartered organisation (estimated annual budget at least $420 million) seem totally oblivious to is the old truism: ‘It’s hard to be green when you are in the red’.
The country’s 4200 commercial fruit and vegetable growers will vote from May 14 on a new HortNZ levy.
Meat processor Alliance Group is asking farmer shareholders to inject more capital in order to remain a 100% co-operative.
A vet is calling for all animals to be vaccinated against a new strain of leptospirosis (lepto) discovered on New Zealand dairy farms in recent years.
Dairy
Rural banker Rabobank is partnering with Food Rescue Kitchen on a new TV series which airs this weekend that aims to shine a light on the real and growing issues of food waste, food poverty and social isolation in New Zealand.
Telco infrastructure provider Chorus says that it believes all Kiwis – particularly those in the rural areas – need access to high-speed, reliable broadband.