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.
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.
New Zealand farming is riding a high, with strong prices, full feed covers and improving confidence lining up at the same time.
Manawatu Mayor Michael Ford says the district sees itself as the agribusiness capital of the lower North Island.
Beef + Lamb New Zealand (B+LNZ) is looking forward to connecting with farmers, rural professionals and community members at this year's Central District Field Days.
Labour Party Leader Chris Hipkins has announced a reshuffle of the party's caucus portfolios.
Agriculture Minister Todd McClay says a series of rural resilienced set to be rolled out next week will help farmers and growers better prepared for adverse weather events.
The head of Massey University's School of Agriculture and the Environment, Professor Paul Kenyon, says the outlook for the primary sector is positive with record numbers of students enrolling for Massey's range of undergraduate courses in the primary sector.

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