Tuesday, 30 January 2024 11:25

Unreal hot air

Written by The Hound

font size decrease font size increase font size
Print
Email

OPINION: The Hound is perplexed about some of the over-the-top climate catastrophising by mainstream media outlets during the holidays.

They ran countless breathless stories about parts of the country hitting temperatures of – wait for it – 30 degrees on some days.

Well, it is summer and temperatures of 30-plus degrees are not a recent phenomenon, it has been happening at this time of year in NZ for more than 150 years!

Then your old mate read a fanciful opinion piece – on a supposedly respected news website – claiming that these kind of temperatures will mean the end of livestock farming in this country as we know it.

The credibility of said ‘opinonist’ and website was put into perspective when she claimed that NZ currently had a population of “40 million sheep”.

The fact is NZ’s not had 40 million sheep for a number of years with the current flock only around 25 million strong.

More like this

Government Declares Medium-Scale Adverse Weather Event in Bay of Plenty, Gisborne/Tairāwhiti, and Canterbury

Recent weather events in the Bay of Plenty, Gisborne/Tairawhiti, and Canterbury have been declared a medium-scale adverse event.

Primary sector on alert as red rain warnings issued across multiple regions

Agriculture and Forestry Minister Todd McClay is encouraging farmers and growers to stay up to date with weather warnings and seek support should they need it.

Wrong focus

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.

Burn the village

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."

Purist problem

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.

Featured

Āta Regenerative Brings Global Soil and Water Experts to New Zealand Farms

Āta Regenerative is bringing international expertise to New Zealand to help farmers respond to growing soil and water challenges, as environmental monitoring identifies declining ecosystem function and reduced water-holding capacity across farms.

Yili’s New Zealand Dairy Group Posts Record $1.58 Billion Revenue

Yili's New Zealand businesses have reported record profits following a major organisational and strategic transformation.

Hino Truck Owners Have 10 Days Left to Register for Proposed $10.9M Settlement

Owners and lessees of certain Hino Trucks New Zealand diesel vehicles have just 10 days remaining to register or opt out of a proposed $10.9 million class action settlement.

Silver Fern Farms Airfreights 90 Tonnes of Chilled Meat to UAE Amid Freight Disruptions

Silver Fern Farms has successfully produced and delivered 90 tonnes of premium chilled New Zealand lamb and beef to the United Arab Emirates via airfreight.

New Zealand Tractor Sales Climb 5% in First Quarter of 2026

For the first three months of 2026, new tractor deliveries saw an increase over the previous two months, resulting in year-to-date deliveries climbing to 649 units - around 5% ahead of the same period in 2025.

FAO Warns Strait of Hormuz Fertilizer Crisis Could Tighten Global Food Supplies Into 2027

QU Dongyu, director-general of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), has issued a warning saying that global fertiliser scarcity caused by disruptions in the Strait of Hormuz will lead to lower yields and tightening food supplies into 2027.