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!
While the District Field Days brought with it a welcome dose of sunshine, it also attracted a significant cohort of sitting members from the Beehive – as one might expect in an election year.
Irish Minister of State of Agriculture, Noel Grealish was in New Zealand recently for an official visit.
While not all sibling rivalries come to blows, one headline event at the recent New Zealand Rural Games held in Palmerston North certainly did, when reigning World Champion Jack Jordan was denied the opportunity of defending his world title in Europe later this year, after being beaten by his big brother’s superior axle blows, at the Stihl Timbersports Nationals.
AgriZeroNZ has invested $5.1 million in Australian company Rumin8 to accelerate development of its methane-reducing products for cattle and bring them to New Zealand.
Farmers want more direct, accurate information about both fuel and fertiliser supply.
A bull on a freight plane sounds like the start of a joke, but for Ian Bryant, it is a fond memory of days gone by.

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