Bacteria to prevent fungal diseases
Plant fungal diseases can be devastating for horticulture and agriculture - in the worst cases, wiping out entire crops.
As dairy and other farmers dramatically cut back their expenses to the bare bones, in Wellington the country's public servants live the life of Riley.
Never mind farmers are in some cases borrowing money from the bank to buy groceries and educate their kids.
While no one disputes that our public servants, like any workers, should be paid fairly; it's the culture of extravagance that irks and annoys rural New Zealand.
MBIE – the outfit that's supposed to decide what science for farming should be funded –continues to show an exceptional lack of judgement and a culture of extravagance. It hired plastic sheep to do whatever at its Christmas party – the mind boggles! It also has a history of spending up on its public relations and image – as many government departments do. The silly unreadable sign outside the building in Wellington is another example of poor judgement; yet this wasteful spend has drawn no real sanction.
If the standard of judgement in the PR area is anything to go by; farmers should be worried at the decision-making process around science funding. Are they that stupid? The CEO is still there and Steven Joyce the Minister responsible for MBIE has done nothing to change that. Why?
Stupid spending in other government agencies, and let's be fair in some primary sector organisations, has been the same. NZTE giving gifts to staff for merely doing their job again highlights how out-of-touch some mandarins are. Fonterra are no better heaping money on a CEO that some argue is underperforming. The banks also pay their CEO's zillions for what?
One wonders how many MBIE or NZTE staff have been outside their sheltered workshops in the capital; where people aspire to mediocracy. Have they ever been on a farm? What do they know about the real world in heartland NZ? It beggars belief that the Government has not clamped down on this sort of behaviour and sacked a few CEO's to get the message out there.
There are no perks in farming at present; so why should there be any in the agencies and businesses that serve them. It's an unacceptable double standard. One wonders what would happen if the public service – and some primary sector businesses – had their staff cut by half. Maybe efficiency would break out?
Analysis by Dunedin-based Techion New Zealand shows the cost of undetected drench resistance in sheep has exploded to an estimated $98 million a year.
Shipping disruption caused by Houthi rebels in the Red Sea has so far not impacted fertiliser prices or supply on farm.
The opportunity to spend more time on farm while providing a dedicated service for shareholders attracted new environmental manager Ben Howden to work for Waimakariri Irrigation Limited (WIL).
Federated Farmers claims that the Otago Regional Council is charging ahead unnecessarily with piling more regulation on rural communities.
Dairy sheep and goat farmers are being told to reduce milk supply as processors face a slump in global demand for their products.
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