Milestone agreement on Foot and Mouth Disease
Six livestock industry groups have signed a new agreement with the Government on how to prepare for, and respond to, a possible outbreak of Foot and Mouth Disease.
Under the old regime, Feds were so badly treated they were even left out of a number of consultations affecting the farming sector by the Labour government.
Now it seems everywhere you look in Parliament there is a Feds' influence.
This includes the two new associate ag ministers, Andrew Hoggard and Mark Patterson, as well as MPs primary production select committee deputy chair Miles Anderson, and new MPs Mike Butterick from Wairarapa and Grant McCallum from Northland - all former Fed Farmers office holders.
There are also quite a few parliamentary staffers who were former Feds staff.
Talk about going from the outhouse to the big house.
