Election Year Curse?
OPINION: The coalition Government seems to have chickened out when it comes to live animal exports by sea.
Your old mate has become increasingly frustrated by the ridiculous claims of animal fundamentalists at SAFE about live sheep shipment to Mexico; these are never challenged by mainstream media.
SAFE claimed sheep on the trip would suffer “stressful, terrifying weeks during a long journey and many, many 100s would die”. However, when it was revealed that fewer than 0.3% died on the voyage (lower than the average death rate on most farms), SAFE then claimed these deaths were due to “starvation”. But if starvation was the cause how do the animal extremists at SAFE account for the sheep gaining weight on average by 4kg per head during the trip? The Hound suggests the name SAFE should stand for ‘Say Anything For (media) Exposure!
The closure of the McCain processing plant and the recent announcement of 300 job losses at Wattie’s underscore the mounting pressure facing New Zealand’s manufacturing sector, Buy NZ Made says.
Specialist agriculture lender Oxbury has entered the New Zealand market, offering livestock finance to farmers.
New research suggests Aotearoa New Zealand farmers are broadly matching phosphorus fertiliser use to the needs of their soils, helping maintain relatively stable nutrient levels across the country’s agricultural land.
Helensville farmers, Donald and Kirsten Watson of Moreland Pastoral, have been named the Auckland Regional Supreme Winners at the Ballance Farm Environment Awards.
Marc and Megan Lalich were named 2026 Share Farmers of the Year at last night's Canterbury/North Otago Dairy Industry Awards.
William John Poole, a third year Agribusiness student at Massey University, has been awarded the Dr Warren Parker and Pāmu Scholarship.

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