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OPINION: Your canine crusader reckons no single lobby group has had a bigger turnaround in fortunes than Federated Farmers since the election of the new coalition Government.
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.
OPINION: Your old mate reckons a wake-up call is overdue for the platoons of non-productive (and now unemployed) bureaucrats, researchers and various other bludgers whingeing about the current government putting out the bonfire of taxpayer money that burned so brightly in recent years.
OPINION: If you're one of the few still reading the NZ Herald, you'd have seen Chicken Little academics screaming that the sky is falling because Judith Collins has focused Marsden science grants on actual science.
Rural Communities Minister Mark Patterson says the present weather conditions remain challenging for farmers.
OPINION: Federated Farmers' latest farmer confidence survey results won’t surprise too many people.
Commodity prices and interest rates play a huge role in shaping farmer confidence, but these factors are beyond their control, says Federated Farmers dairy chair Richard McIntyre.
A large Māori farm on the Mahia Peninsula in northern Hawke's Bay has rocket science to thank for improving its viability.
Wools of New Zealand will soon launch the international version of an online global wool marketplace designed to bring farmers and manufacturers closer together.
New Zealand is so far escaping the unpredictable vagaries of President Donald Trump's trade policies by the skin of its teeth.
The Ministry for Primary Industries' (MP) head of their On-Farm Support Team, Dr John Roche, says the declaration of a drought or adverse event is a recognition that things are tough in a region such as Taranaki.
Rural Communities Minister Mark Patterson says the present weather conditions remain challenging for farmers.
The quick response to the discovery of another fruit fly in Auckland is being praised by fruit and vegetable growers.
OPINION: Your old mate reckons a wake-up call is overdue for the platoons of non-productive (and now unemployed) bureaucrats, researchers…
OPINION: If you're one of the few still reading the NZ Herald, you'd have seen Chicken Little academics screaming that…
