Election 2026: Rural Lobby Groups Challenge Parties on Agriculture Policy
Three farmer lobby groups are applying the blowtorch to political parties on key issues facing the primary sector ahead of the general elections.
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.
From the Government through to the levyfunded lobby groups, they all calmly claim we will be penalised in the market if we drop Paris. Little or no effort is made to verify this claim. “Instead, they prey on fear.”
And with their myopic focus on emissions, they never reconcile the fact we are losing hundreds of thousands of hectares of food producing land to pines because of the Paris Agreement.
As the ginger group says, it’s not about giving Paris the middle finger and doing nothing, it’s about highlighting to other signatories the significant flaws and unsustainable cost implications of being bound to Paris.
The Government has announced changes to stock exclusion regulations which it claims will cut unnecessary costs and inflexible rules while maintaining environmental protections.
Technology and the use of artificial intelligence are increasingly part of life, both on the farm and off it.
Ashleigh Gordon and Leilani Lobb have been named as the two finalists for Dairy Women's Network's (DWN) 2026 Regional Leader of the Year Award.
Animal and Plant Health New Zealand (APHANZ) says the approval of a new fungicide seed treatment is a positive, however growers will be hoping the final approval is completed ahead of the spring season.
North Canterbury farmer Adam Williamson has been appointed DairyNZ's associate director for 2026-27.
Fonterra farmers are set for a multi-billion-dollar payout this week.

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