True Reflection?
A fair question has been raised about how member-funded organisations should conduct themselves when taking a public position on any given issue.
OPINION: Your old mate notes that research on the make-up of the new parliament shows it is now far more farmer-friendly and populated with greater rurally aware MPs.
According to Wellington-based PR firm BlacklandPR, “the most notable change in this parliament is the fall in the number of MPs with working backgrounds in the education sector and the increase in the number of MPs with agricultural backgrounds”.
Unsurprisingly, the PR firm explained that this was down to huge drop in the number of Labour MPs and the big increase in National MPs – voted out and in – at the last election.
Of course, this news has upset the chattering classes in the Wellington bubble who believe only their world view counts in politics and having more farmers in parliament is a bad thing.
However, not according to this old mutt who reckons the change is fantastic!
Oamaru-based livestock handling specialist Te Pari has bought Combi Clamp, the New Zealand manufacturer of Combi Clamp manual sheep handlers.
Agriculture Minister Todd McClay has admitted that a scheme bringing workers from Pacific nations to work on orchards has become too hard to navigate but says changes are coming.
A new app designed in New Zealand aims to help sheep, beef and deer farmers capture, analyse and use body condition score data more effectively.
Canterbury farmer Andy Macfarlane has been appointed to the board of AgriZeroNZ, the public-private partnership designed to accelerate the development and deployment of emissions reduction tools for New Zealand farmers.
For over 50 years Mel Ewers has been supporting the apple sector navigate through compliance and quality assurance issues.
The apple sector is enjoying a bumper harvest season.

A fair question has been raised about how member-funded organisations should conduct themselves when taking a public position on any…
OPINION: It really is getting harder to lampoon government bureaucrats when they do such a good job of it themselves.…