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OPINION: This old mutt notes that NZ's mānuka honey sector recently lost a trademark case in the UK, which may end up costing the sector big money.
However, it looks like taxpayers could also be big losers as well.
It's been reported that MBIE - backed by the Government - has already lent the country's mānuka honey producers $1.7m, through the Kānoa Regional Economic Development & Investment Fund, to pay its legal bills.
However, that money is now unlikely to ever be paid back to the taxpayer, because the contractual terms forgave the debt if they lost their trademark bid (which they now have).
It seems Regional Economic Development Minister Stuart Nash now must decide how much more money he is willing to plough into court costs and lawyers' fees and to gamble more public money on obtaining an international legal precedent that, thus far, has failed wherever it has been attempted.
OPINION: The same mainstream media muppets that brought you Jacindamania in 2017 have been flat out pimping for the Opportunities Party, labelled by some as the 'LinkedIn Greens' for their corporate spin on Green-esque 'tax the rich' policies.
OPINION: Your old mate reckons the atrocious way farmers in the UK are treated by their lords and masters in Westminster is a salient warning for us.
OPINION: Proponents of regenerative agriculture tend to be naturally aligned with a 'green mindset', so they will be nonplussed with their new mates in the US of A.
OPINION: Mike Chapman, former chief executive of levy-funded HortNZ, has thrown out a challenge to farmers and growers to put their levy-funded industry organisations under the same scrutiny as fertiliser, electricity, labour and freight.
A fair question has been raised about how member-funded organisations should conduct themselves when taking a public position on any given issue.
Testing confirms H5 bird flu in a single northern giant petrel, found dead on a remote Cape Palliser beach in the Wairarapa, says Dr Mary van Andel, the Ministry for Primary Industries' (MPI) Chief Veterinary Officer.
"What's for dinner?" may sound like a simple question, but for many Kiwi parents, answering it has become a job in itself.
Fifty Eight years ago, on the 16th of August 1968, August Claas, the founder of the harvesting company and father of Helmut Claas, personally presented a Claas Senator combine harvester to Scottish farmer John Steven.
New Zealand consumers are paying more for beef mince than ever before, with the average retail price now sitting above $24 per kilogram, according to Rabobank.
State farmer Pamu has delivered its strongest operating result on record.
Four years since it was first detected in New Zealand, researchers and growers now know much more about management of maize pest fall armyworm (FAW).
