Unreal hot air
OPINION: The Hound is perplexed about some of the over-the-top climate catastrophising by mainstream media outlets during the holidays.
Cropping farmers have had to put up with an unusually wet start to summer.
Richard Porter, who farms 500ha at St Andrews, south of Timaru, told Rural News his wheat was “looking fantastic” a month ago, but he is now struggling with fusarium brought on by the wet.
Peas on heavy land are also having problems with wet feet, he said, quipping that he is now “reasonably pessimistic”.
“They won’t be harvested for another month yet, but just looking at them I can tell already that some aren’t looking very good.”
Porter’s neighbour, Miles Anderson, said the wet November and December resulted in such boggy paddocks that he had to use a neighbour’s tracked header to get a winter barley crop in.
“Otherwise I’d be waiting for weeks. I know a lot of people on the heavier country are having trouble harvesting their barley because of the ground conditions.”
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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