Category Archives: Uncategorized

  A new year and a new set of – as well as many old – challenges face New Zealand’s agricultural sector. Already with 2015 only just begun; we see Canterbury and other eastern parts of the country facing a … Continue reading →

  WITHOUT DOUBT last week was a bad one for Fonterra and its shareholders. The cooperative, New Zealand’s largest company, was savaged by an independent inquiry into the handling of its infamous WPC80 false botulism scare last year. In its … Continue reading →

YOU KNOW there is something seriously wrong with the priorities in the country’s education system when we have only 100 agricultural science graduates – compared with 120 in acupuncture – in one year. If this wasn’t so serious it would … Continue reading →

NEW ZEALAND’S farming future is not just black and white or – at least – just black and white dairy cows. Improving red meat prices and lower dairy prices, combined with growing concerns about the environmental impacts of more and … Continue reading →

NEW ZEALAND wool growers have again firmly rejected the idea of a levy-paid industry-good wool organisation. In a referendum that closed on October 10 farmers declined the opportunity for a new wool commodity levy order. The previous levy was dropped … Continue reading →

  LANDCORP CHIEF executive Steven Carden is right on the money in pointing out that the farming sector has effectively lost the confidence of the public. The ‘man in the street’ is now more inclined to believe ‘dirty dairying’ slander … Continue reading →

IN JUST a few days the 2014 election campaign will be over and then will start the process of forming a new government. Depending on which parties get what number of votes this could be a simple or a drawn-out … Continue reading →

FONTERRA’S PLANS to team up with Chinese infant food manufacturer Beingmate and form a global partnership to chase China’s ever-growing demand for infant formula is a smart move. China truly is an Asian tiger whose hunger for dairy produce is … Continue reading →

IT MUST be election season: foreign land ownership is supposedly the hottest political issue for New Zealand voters. Forget the economy, jobs, health, education, spies, the environment or even Nicky Hager’s latest conspiracy theories.It seems evil foreigners coming here and … Continue reading →

  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 … Continue reading →