Feds make case for rural bank lending probe
Bankers have been making record profits in the last few years, but those aren’t the only records they’ve been breaking, says Federated Farmers vice president Richard McIntyre.
Farmers, dairy product manufacturers and trade representatives in Uruguay and Argentina heard a New Zealand take on current agricultural issues last week.
Federated Farmers of NZ President Katie Milne was engaged in a busy schedule of speaking and meeting engagements in Montevideo and Buenos Aires in a programme put together by the Ministry for Primary Industries (MPI), the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade, and New Zealand’s Ambassador to Argentina, Paraguay and Uruguay, Raylene Liufalani.
Milne’s engagements in Uruguay included giving an address to a conference with the theme ‘Social innovation for a country with agricultural conscience’, a meeting with Uruguay’s Minister for Agriculture and Livestock, Enzo Benech, and visiting the PGG Wrightson Pas Research Centre to witness their operations in Latin America.
At the Argentine Congress on November 22, which included a Q&A session with Argentine Deputies and Senators, Milne’s topics included future farming challenges, the importance of co-operatives in NZ agriculture (dairy in particular) and the role of women in rural communities.
Among other events, she also had discussions with CIL (Argentina’s dairy industry body) and spoke at a symposium of La Serenisima, a dairy product maker with more than 5000 employees and annual revenue of more than $NZ 2 billion.
During her visit she also met Uruguayan and Argentine farmers, including her counterparts, to hear first-hand the challenges they are facing in the region.
While New Zealand has a much higher level of trade with Asian nations that those in Latin America, the latter is seen as offering significant opportunities — especially with Chile and Peru being signatories to the CPTPP. New Zealand is also exploring deeper trade engagement with MERCOSUR (Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay and Uruguay).
South Waikato farm manager Ben Purua’s amazing transformation from gang life to milking cows was rewarded with the Ahuwhenua Young Maori Farmer award last night.
Bankers have been making record profits in the last few years, but those aren’t the only records they’ve been breaking, says Federated Farmers vice president Richard McIntyre.
The 2023-24 season has been a roller coaster ride for Waikato dairy farmers, according to Federated Farmers dairy section chair, Mathew Zonderop.
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.
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