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OPINION: This old mutt reckons both government and officials are failing to see the wood for the trees in regard to the huge swathes of good farmland going into forestry - much of this to overseas-owned carbon sinks.
According to Newshub, from information under the Official Information Act, 25 times more land was converted into forestry last year than a decade ago.
It shows a rise in new forestry area from 695ha in 2013 to more than 18,000ha last year.
Beef+Lamb NZ says it is alarmed by this figure and while it is not against off-setting via commercial forestry, it argues that there needs to be some limits put on it.
Your old mate hopes the Government's 'ministerial inquiry' into forestry slash will lead to limits on land conversion, as it needs to answer for its policies incentivising forestry to earn carbon credits.
OPINION: This old mutt well remembers the wailing, whining and gnashing of teeth by former West Coast MP and Labour Agriculture Minister Damian O’Connor when Chineseowned Yili took over the troubled dairy company Westland Milk a few years back.
OPINION: Your canine crusader gets a little fed up with the some in media, union hacks, opposition politicians and hard-core lefty whiners who claim the answer to all the country’s current financial woes is to tax the rich even more.
OPINION: Readers of this column will know that your old mate has been a long-time critic of $55 million of taxpayers’ money handed out to ‘favoured’ media outlets via the Public Interest Journalism Fund (PIJF) through NZ on Air by the previous government.
OPINION: The Hound reckons school teachers like nothing better than to complain constantly about how tough things are for them and that their generous holidays are all spent ‘marking school work and preparing for next term ahead’.
OPINION: The new government has clearly signalled big cuts across the public service.
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.
