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OPINION: According to news reports, possibly the world’s biggest nerd – Microsoft founder Bill Gates – now owns the most farmland of anyone in the United States.
The tech mogul, who let’s face it, would have been mercilessly bullied at school, and the fourth richest person in the world with a net worth of US$121 billion, has built up a massive agriculture portfolio across the US.
He owns 108,853 hectares of land in Washington, California, Idaho, Wyoming, Colorado, New Mexico, Arizona, Nebraska, Iowa, Wisconsin, Illinois, Michigan, Indiana, Ohio, North Carolina, Florida, Mississippi, Arkansas and Louisiana.
His largest holdings include 27,952 hectares in Louisiana. Your old mate suggests, going by this, the old saying that “the meek shall inherit the earth” should have instead been “the geeks shall inherit the earth”!
OPINION: Henry Dimbleby, author of the UK's Food Strategy, recently told the BBC: "Meat production is about 85% of our current farming use so we can afford to pull that back a bit in order to restore nature... in order to get clean energy. That is not a major sacrifice."
OPINION: For the last few weeks, we've witnessed a parade of complaints about New Zealand's school lunch program: 'It's arriving late.' 'The portions are wrong.' 'I wanted caviar.'
OPINION: You must feel a bit sorry for poor old Christopher Luxon.
OPINION: As Jim Bolger once said, "Bugger the polls!"
OPINION: Ruth Richardson, architect of the 1991 ‘Mother of all Budgets’ and the economic reforms dubbed ‘Ruthanasia’, added her two cents to the Treaty Principles Bill with a submission that essentially says it’s time to “have the sovereign authority” define the principles of the Treaty “by design” rather than continue to let them be defined “by accident” by unaccountable institutions like activists in the Courts, the Waitangi Tribunal and officialdom.
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.
DairyNZ is supporting a proposed new learning model for apprenticeships and traineeships that would see training, education, and pastoral care delivered together to provide the best chance of success.
Two agritech companies have joined forces to help eliminate manual entry and save farmer time.
The recent squabble between the Cook Islands and NZ over their deal with China has added a new element of tension in the relationship between China and NZ.
The world is now amid potentially one of the most disruptive periods in world trade for a very long time.
Former Westland Milk boss Richard Wyeth is taking over as chief executive of Canterbury milk processor Synlait from May 19.
OPINION: Henry Dimbleby, author of the UK's Food Strategy, recently told the BBC: "Meat production is about 85% of our…
OPINION: For the last few weeks, we've witnessed a parade of complaints about New Zealand's school lunch program: 'It's arriving…
