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OPINION: Your old mate reckons a nasty war looks to be brewing in NZ farming politics.
For the past 18 months or so, the Groundswell lobby group has been stirring up farmers around the country over freshwater reforms, greenhouse gas taxes and a myriad of other issues troubling the rural sector.
It has also taken regular pot shots at the establishment lobbies such as Beef+Lamb and DairyNZ, accusing them (probably quite fairly) of cuddling up to the Government and selling out the sector time and time again.
All of this tension has now come to a head with the end of the recent farmer 'consultation' meetings held by HWEN (basically BLNZ and DairyNZ in drag).
Groundswell has accused DairyNZ of shutting down options; DairyNZ accused Groundswell of spreading misinformation and being offensive.
Pass the popcorn, this could get interesting.
OPINION: Bouquets this week from the old mutt for Fed Farmers and Groundswell for continuing to resist the proposed Gore District plan and its intention to apply costly "cultural values" across the district and a raft of land classifications that are unworkable and counterproductive.
Three farmer lobby groups are applying the blowtorch to political parties on key issues facing the primary sector ahead of the general elections.
OPINION: Many sheep and beef farmers will be worse off under the new environment legislation than they were under the Resource Management Act (RMA), claims Beef+Lamb New Zealand (B+LNZ) in an email to levy payers.
A drop in methane targets announced by the Government this month has pleased farmers but there are concerns that without cross-party support, the targets would change once a Labour-led Government is voted into office.
OPINION: This old mutt is loath to sound like Groundswell has been topping up his bowl with brisket off-cuts, but the ginger group makes a good point about the arguments raised in favour of toeing the Paris Agreement line.
A new joint investment of $1.2 million aims to accelerate farmer uptake of low-methane sheep genetics, one of the few emissions reduction tools available to New Zealand farmers.
The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) has issued a stark warning about the global implications of the ongoing Gulf crisis.
Fonterra has announced interim changes to the leadership of its Global Ingredients business.
New Zealand agritech company Halter has announced unveiled a new direct-to-satellite technology solution for its smart collars for beef cattle, unlocking virtual fencing for some of the country's most remote farming regions.
Dairy Women's Network (DWN) has announced a new limited edition DWN Monopoly NZ Dairy Farming Edition, created to celebrate the people, places and seasons.
Rural Women New Zealand (RWNZ) and Federated Farmers say they welcome the announcement last week that the Government will increase the conveyance allowance by 30%.
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