Picking winners?
OPINION: Every time politicians come up with an investment scheme where they're going to have a crack at 'picking winners' with our money, the Hound cringes.
Labour is now also putting the putting the boot into the NZ dairy sector. Its trade spokesman David Parker has accused Trade Minister Tim Groser of insulting Canadian diplomats by comparing that country’s dairy industry to the Soviet Union.
But given that the Canadians limit the amount of domestic dairy production, impose huge tariffs on imports and cause a single dairy cow quota to be valued at about $30,000 you can’t blame Groser for his Soviet comparison. Parker, said Groser’s comments had the Canadian Embassy in Washington “bristling at the minister’s counter-productive, undiplomatic sledging.” So is Labour now supportive of the Canadian Government’s dairy policy which locks out competing countries like NZ?
Federated Farmers says almost 2000 farmers have signed a petition launched this month to urge the Government to step in and provide certainty while the badly broken resource consent system is fixed.
Zespri’s counter-seasonal Zespri Global Supply (ZGS) programme is underway with approximately 33 million trays, or 118,800 tonnes, expected this year from orchards throughout France, Italy, Greece, Korea, and Japan.
Animal owners can help protect life-saving antibiotics from resistant bacteria by keeping their animals healthy, says the New Zealand Veterinary Association.
According to analysis by the Meat Industry Association (MIA), New Zealand red meat exports reached $827 million in October, a 27% increase on the same period last year.
The black and white coat of Holstein- Friesian cows is globally recognised as a symbol of dairy farming and a defining trait of domestic cattle. But until recently, scientists didn’t know which genes were responsible for the Holstein’s spots.
According to the New Zealand Dairy Statistics 2024/25 report, New Zealand dairy farmers are achieving more with fewer cows.

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