Otago Regional Council to launch winter flyovers
Otago Regional Council is set to begin its annual winter farm flyovers in the next three weeks.
OPINION: Your canine crusader was staggered to learn that an investigation by the Taxpayers' Union has revealed that taxpayers and Otago ratepayers have forked out more than $2.76 million to kill just... 18 wallabies!
That's a kill cost of $153,000 per wallaby and it's taken 26,000 hours of work.
An OIA by the Taxpayers Union revealed this was just one of the 'Jobs for Nature' projects funded by the Government's Covid slush fund.
Labour dreamt up the 'Jobs for Nature' scheme - and allocated it $1.2 billion in funding - as a 'make work' programme when it feared NZ would see mass job losses as a result of the pandemic.
According to the Taxpayers Union, 'Jobs for Nature' has continued to dish out taxpayer money to ineffective 'conservation' projects at an average cost of around $200,000 per 'job'.
No wonder the country is facing massive fiscal problems when the Government develops silly ideas like this!
Animal and Plant Health New Zealand (APHANZ) says the approval of a new fungicide seed treatment is a positive, however growers will be hoping the final approval is completed ahead of the spring season.
North Canterbury farmer Adam Williamson has been appointed DairyNZ's associate director for 2026-27.
Fonterra farmers are set for a multi-billion-dollar payout this week.
The 2026 Holstein Friesian NZ Young Breeders Development Programme is off to a strong start, with this year's intake coming together for their first event on March 18 and 19.
State farmer Pāmu (Landcorp) has announced it will pay a $10 million special dividend to the Crown off the back of a strong outlook for the business and a capital repayment of $9.5 million following Fonterra's consumer business sale.
OPINION: As the fuel crisis hits the country and rural New Zealand in particular, perhaps it's time to turn to one of the kaumatua of the rural sector, Pita Alexander - farm accountant, advisor and a source of knowledge and insightfulness.

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