Author Archives: david

THE GOVERNMENT has a clear message for farmers: ignore climate change at your peril. Consumers worldwide are demanding sustainably produced food and are keen to know how the food that lands on their meal table is produced. They expect farmers … Continue reading →

THE LATEST report from the Parliamentary Commissioner for the Environment Simon Upton makes interesting reading for the agricultural sector and its constant critics. Upton’s report marks a departure from widespread calls to drag agriculture into an expanded ‘all gases, all … Continue reading →

THE COALITION Government resembles a headless chicken in its handling – or more correctly mishandling – of the recommendations of Sir Michael Cullen’s Tax Working Group (TWG). Its line “we are ruling nothing in or nothing out” of the TWG’s … Continue reading →

THEY SAY when you point a finger at someone in condemnation you have three fingers pointing back at yourself. Fishing and hunting lobby group Fish & Game NZ has spent the best part of the last two decades pointing the … Continue reading →

IN THE last week the words ‘Lest we forget’ have been much used as most of the western world remembers Armistice Day and of course the same applies to ANZAC. The British and Europeans use these words a lot. However, … Continue reading →

WITHOUT DOUBT 2018 will be remembered as Fonterra’s annus horribilis. It is not overstating the case to say that the past year has seen a series of failures and fiascos for the dairy co-op. For the first time, it reported … Continue reading →

WHAT’S GOING on at Landcorp? It appears the state-owned farmer has taken a dangerous lurch into the political world with its recent actions. An Official Information Act (OIA) request has revealed that the Government-owned and controlled farmer lodged a late … Continue reading →

Fonterra shareholders are starting 2019 with high expectations. Most farmers’ New Year resolution will be to continue producing milk sustainably and efficiently in the hope that global milk prices will firm. However, looming large on their minds will be the … Continue reading →

IT’S NO secret that current wool prices are awful, but the outlook for the fibre has been terrible for many years. For some types of wool, more has been put in storage than has sold in the last nine months, … Continue reading →