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OPINION: Your old mate reckons the advocates of the latest fad in NZ farming, Regenerative Ag, should take heed of what's happening in Sri Lanka right now.
That country will pay US$200m compensation to more than a million rice farmers whose crops failed under a botched scheme to establish the world's first 100% organic farming nation.
Agricultural chemicals such as fertiliser were among the imports banned last year.
These restrictions were lifted months later after farmer protests and crop failures.
About a third of Sri Lanka's agricultural land was left dormant last year because of the imported farm chemicals compounding the island's economic crisis, causing food shortages and forcing shops to ration sugar, lentils and other essentials.
Food inflation in Sri Lanka hit a record 21.5% last month with vegetables and other staples in short supply in the wake of the disastrous organic experiment.
OPINION: Your old mate reckons townie Brooke van Velden, the Minister of Workplace (or is it Woke Place) Relations is now showing how underemployed she is as a minister by initiating an investigation into whether young children should be banned from collecting eggs on farms and feeding animals.
OPINION: There's an infamous term coined by a US general during the Vietnam war, specifically in reference to the battle of Ben Tre: "We had to burn the village to save it."
OPINION: The sudden departure of Jim Ward, manager of Molesworth Station for 24 years, highlighted some major dysfunction in the way conservation estate is managed in this country - the biggest problem, as the Hound sees it, being idealogues who harp on about "taonga" and use all means possible to block sensible commercial operations on conservation land.
OPINION: While the destruction of NZ's oil and gas industry by Jacinda Ardern's band of merry vandals was virtue signalling on a heroic scale - producing no environmental benefit whatsoever - the politician vowing to make that industry whole again, Shane Jones, is not above a bit of virtue signalling of his own.
OPINION: Your old mate's ear has been chewed off recently by farmers voicing their displeasure with the National Party, particularly relating to how they're treating their farmer base.
OPINION: Nothing it seems can be done in the short term to get Donald Trump to change his mind about removing the unfair 15% tariffs that he’s imposed on New Zealand exports to the US.
A charity that connects young people with farmers for two years of on-farm training is reporting 150 student applications for its 2026 intake.
It’s been a long time coming, but the FMG Young Farmer of the Year Grand Final is returning to the Naki for Season 58.
The Government has appointed three new members to the board of state farmer Landcorp Farming Ltd, trading as Pāmu.
North Canterbury pig farmer Steve Sterne has been honoured with NZ Pork's Outstanding Contribution Award, recognising his 27 years of dedication to excellence in the sector.
Hawke's Bay's loss is Canterbury's gain with the opening of a new state-of-the-art soil testing laboratory for the Ravensdown subsidiary ARL (Analytical Research Laboratories) at Rolleston.
