The politics of slagging

August 6, 2014

  FISH & Game NZ’s use in March of dubious survey results to justify slagging dairy farming prompted Rural News  to urge farmers to ‘lock the gate’ to F&G members until the parent body shut up. The newspaper reasoned that since Fish & Game’s governing body had such low regard for farming, it might want members […]

Read the full article →

Bite still needed

July 14, 2014

EXPECT FEDERATED Farmers to place more emphasis on science and be more ‘evidenced based’ when dealing with issues for the next three years. That’s the message from the new president Dr William Rolleston, successor to Bruce Wills who has retired after three years in the role. Rolleston, who farms in South Canterbury, told Rural News […]

Read the full article →

Recapturing farming’s challenging times

June 16, 2014

  THERE’S A hackneyed saying that if you lived through the 1960s, you won’t remember them. (Attributed to the tendency for people in that era to use mind-altering substances.) However, for anyone who farmed – or was associated with farming – in New Zealand during the 1980s it’s a time no one will ever forget. […]

Read the full article →

Now for the good news!

June 2, 2014

IN CASE you missed it, Fonterra last week released some fantastic figures in its payout announcement. An opening forecast farmgate price of $7.00/kgMS for the 2014-15 season – a historically high figure that matches the opening forecast 12 months ago at the start of the 2013-14 season. The forecast 2013-14 payout of $8.40/kgMS, with a […]

Read the full article →

Your money, your vote

March 3, 2014

‘WE NEED the resources to keep the drive for change moving.’ That’s the plea from meat industry reform lobby group MIE (Meat Industry Excellence) in asking farmers to support its remit for funding from Beef + Lamb NZ (BLNZ).  This and other remits will be voted on at BLNZ’s annual meeting in Feilding on March 14. […]

Read the full article →

We must lead on animal welfare

February 16, 2014

  KILLING bobby calves with hammer blows to their heads should send shivers down the spine of every Kiwi dairy farmer. The days of ‘she’ll be right’ are gone, as are the days when ‘what happens on the farm stays on the farm’. And perceptions held by onlookers are as important as ever. Vast numbers […]

Read the full article →

Farming needs more promotion

January 30, 2014

The agriculture sector needs to do more to inform the public about what’s involved and happening in our industry. Farming’s critics have the industry constantly ‘under the pump’, often using misleading information and ill-informed assertions. Many claims are made about farmers deliberately damaging the environmental, over-charging locals for produce, making huge tax-free profits and inflicting […]

Read the full article →

Storm in a cream cup

January 19, 2014

THE LATEST media beat-up on Fonterra’s fresh cream recall cannot go unchallenged. Everyone, from opposition politicians to a handful of Fonterra’s 10,500 shareholders, has jumped on the bandwagon to bag the dairy co-op. One unsuccessful Fonterra board candidate went as far as calling for board chairman John Wilson to resign. And all because the co-op […]

Read the full article →

2013 in review: the good, bad and ugly!

January 6, 2014

Another year has passed, yet another busy one for the agribusiness sector. Rural News’ editorial team reviews the 2013 year and its highs and lows… Bad ‘KICK EM in the guts Trev’ award: AgResearch for the way it handled its relocation strategy. Another crop of good scientists gets dumped on and New Zealand loses again. […]

Read the full article →

Foreign ownership brings out dog-whistlers

December 15, 2013

THE DEBATE over foreign investment in agriculture is clouded in politics, ambition and fear. It polarises farmers, political parties, investors and the community. Yet foreign investment in New Zealand agriculture has been a reality for decades. In fact, New Zealand agriculture was founded on foreign investment. With former Labour leader and trade minster Phil Goff […]

Read the full article →

← Previous Entries

Next Entries →