Editorial: Farm salaries get a boost
OPINION: The recent Federated Farmers / Rabobank 2024 Farming Salaries Report revealed strong growth in farm salaries over the past two years.
Multiple submissions are heading in from top farming groups to the Government in response to its deeply unpopular agricultural emissions proposal.
The goal is to form a united front and advocate strongly for farmers on emissions pricing. The leaders of DairyNZ, Beef+Lamb New Zealand (B+LNZ) and Federate Farmers have met to discuss emissions pricing and reaffirmed a common position between the three organisations. The farming groups claim it will enable them to move forward together and advocate strongly on behalf of farmers.
DairyNZ chair Jim van der Poel says a united voice on emissions pricing is the best way to ensure positive policy outcomes for farmers.
"All three organisations have reaffirmed nine core principles that we will all be raising in our submissions and through the He Waka Eke Noa (HWEN) partnership," he says.
Effectively the Government will be receiving three submissions from each of the organisations: One through HWEN, a joint one from the gang of three, plus each organisation will make a separate submission dealing with issues that directly affect their members.
Feds Andrew Hoggard has already stated that “it will go hard”, while van der Poel has made it clear that “no deal is better than a bad deal” and that only a fair and reasonable system will be accepted for farmers.
Van der Poel says DairyNZ is committed to securing a fair pricing system for farmers and would like to see the Government revert to the HWEN recommendations put forward in May. He claims HWEN was designed as a whole farm system approach to reduce emissions, meet targets and give fair recognition and reward for planting farmers have done on their farms.
“We believe the Government’s significant and unnecessary changes have undermined farmer confidence in the process and needlessly put the finely balanced, cross-sector consensus at risk,” he says.
“The Government’s suggestion it has given the sector what we asked for – with ‘small tweaks’ – is incorrect. The changes are significant and cut to the very core of the He Waka Eke Noa partnership.”
Van der Poel says NZ must reduce its emissions but it can’t drive blindly toward targets at all costs.
“We have to remember why we’re doing this in the first place. The Paris Agreement is about reducing global emissions, not just New Zealands.”
Nine core principles will be raised directly with the Government, which include stating that the current methane targets are wrong and need to be reviewed and that targets should be science- based, not political, and look to prevent additional warming.
Ministry for Primary Industries (MPI) director general Ray Smith says job cuts announced this morning will not impact the way the Ministry is organised or merge business units.
Scales Corporation is acquiring a number of orchard assets from Bostock Group.
Family and solidarity shone through at the 75 years of Ferdon sale in Otorohanga last month.
The Ministry for Primary Industries (MPI) has informed staff it will cut 391 jobs following a consultation period.
New Zealand farmers are committed to making their businesses more resilient to climate change and are embracing innovation to help them do so.
Atiamuri farmers Paul and Lesley Grey never gave up their dream of owning their own farm – and in 2020, that dream came true.
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