Potential threats to our reputation

South Waikato farmer Helen Mandeno recently delivered a speech at Beef + Lamb NZ's annual meeting in Nelson. She spoke in support of her remit on B+LNZ seeking majority consensus from levy payers before advancing policies that may threaten NZ's pure, grass-fed and non-GE status. Here's part of what she said:

Fourteen months after Cyclone Gabrielle, many farmers have limited access to their farms.

OPINION: The distress that the politicians and bureaucrats are causing to the people of Wairoa and the wider Tairāwhiti is unforgivable.

Cut with care

OPINION: The new government has clearly signalled big cuts across the public service.

Bubble burst!

OPINION: Your canine crusader is not surprised by the recent news that New Zealand plant-based ‘fake meat’ business is in the process of shutting down.

No Sat paper!

OPINION: This old mutt understands that NZ Post will soon no longer be delivering to rural addresses on Saturdays.

Good job!

OPINION: Your old mate notes that research on the make-up of the new parliament shows it is now far more farmer-friendly and populated with greater rurally aware MPs.

Plant-based bubble bursts

OPINION: Talking about plant-based food: “Chicken-free chicken” start-up Sunfed has had its valuation slashed to zero by major investor Blackbird Ventures, and its products are no longer available in supermarkets.

Exploited by one of their own

OPINION: Milking It believes a recent Employment Relations Authority ruling on the exploitation of three migrant workers from Indonesia highlights a trend in New Zealand – migrant workers being mistreated and oppressed by one of their own.

'Not our fault!'

OPINION: Milking It wasn’t too surprised to hear Kiwis’ trust in media has sunk to a new low.

Frank Mitloehner

OPINION: When Myles Allen, a professor of geosystem science at the University of Oxford, talks, I always suggest it’s worth a listen – particularly when he shares information that can help improve sustainability in the cattle sector.

Crazy

OPINION: Your canine crusader was truly impressed by the almost unanimous support given by politicians of all stripes in Parliament to the recent passing of legislation for the NZ/EU free trade deal.

OPINION: As this old mutt suggested in the last issue, MPI looks a very good candidate for some serious public sector savings that the government is currently looking for.

OPINION: Your old mate is still somewhat gobsmacked by sheer stupidity and lack of understanding by Beef+Lamb NZ’s board in asking for a pay rise at this year’s annual meeting.

Fonterra released its interim results last month, showing a continuation of the strong earnings performance delivered by the co-op through the 2023 financial year. Here’s what Fonterra chair Peter McBride and chief executive Miles Hurrell said about the results…

OPINION: DairyNZ's latest forecast data on the Econ Tracker, that the outlook for the current season has improved, will be welcome news for farmers.

A lethal form of avian influenza has been confirmed in US dairy cattle in Texas and Kansas, the US Department of Agriculture says.

OPINION: Last week's revelation that data relating to New Zealand MPs was stolen amid Chinese state-sponsored cyber espionage targeting two arms of the country’s Parliament could test the long-standing trade relations between the two countries.

OPINION: Seeds of legume plants are being used to make dairy-free milk products by scientists at Massey University’s Palmerston North labs.

OPINION: Harvest begins, and almost immediately we start to get media enquiries about how the vintage is going and whether it is going to be a good year for New Zealand wine.

OPINION: Rachael Cook is the smiling grape grower on this month’s cover, tending vines on the miniscule, beautiful and dream-driven vineyard she and her husband Murray have created on an east facing hillside of Marlborough’s Brancott Valley.

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The Hound

Cut with care

OPINION: The new government has clearly signalled big cuts across the public service.

Bubble burst!

OPINION: Your canine crusader is not surprised by the recent news that New Zealand plant-based ‘fake meat’ business is in…

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