Unreal hot air
OPINION: The Hound is perplexed about some of the over-the-top climate catastrophising by mainstream media outlets during the holidays.
A school in Gore has lent a hand in the Southland clean-up effort.
When Dairy News visited, Darren Jack, deputy principal of Gore’s co-ed Catholic secondary school, St Peter’s College, was mucking in with a vanload of about a dozen of his students, clearing debris from fences on a dairy farm bordering the Mataura River a few kilometres south of Gore.
Jack says it’s important for the school “to put into action what you what you say you’re all about, which is community and compassion and caring.”
The flood had swept through the farm’s lower paddocks. Even where it didn’t break the wire the debris was wrapped around them and needed to be removed before the electric fencing would work again.
“The cows will go through it so we need to get it up and running,” said Jack.
“It’s a slow laborious job but it’s got to be done.”
Wednesday was the first day for the St Peter’s students to get out on the job, because the school first had to get parents’ consent.
“Now that we’ve got that start we’ll be able to carry that on for a few days at least, depending on need really. If we’re needed, then we’ll do our best to be available,” said Jack.
Farm manager Kyrie Romero said the fences were broken by silage bales swept down from another farm upstream.
Romero said his herd of 420 cows was “fine” and able to graze on the untouched front paddocks bordering the Gore to Invercargill rail line. However, production had dropped from 8000 litres to 6000 litres because of the disruption. The animals were stressed and didn’t like eating silt-covered grass, he said.
OPINION: The recent Federated Farmers / Rabobank 2024 Farming Salaries Report revealed strong growth in farm salaries over the past two years.
The low unemployment environment is one of the key factors driving on-farm salaries higher over the past 24 months, says Rabobank general manager for country banking Bruce Weir.
Fonterra has appointed a new chief financial officer, seven months after its last CFO’s shock resignation.
A seminar on rural dispute resolution has been organised at Lincoln University, Christchurch this month.
The legacy of Dr Peter Snow continues to inspire as the recipients of the 2023 and 2024 Peter Snow Memorial Awards were announced at the recent National Rural Health Conference.
One of Fonterra’s global customers, Mars is launching an ambitious sustainable dairy plan to work with dairy farmers and cut emissions by 50%.
OPINION: Canterbury milk processor Synlait is showing no sign of bouncing back from its financial doldrums.
OPINION: It seems every bugger in this country can get an award these days.