Editorial: Sensible move
OPINION: The Government's decision to rule out changes to Fringe Benefit Tax (FBT) that would cost every farmer thousands of dollars annually, is sensible.
Outgoing Federated Farmers president Katie Milne has hit out at Wellington-based government officials for their lack of understanding about farming.
Milne, the first woman to head Feds, says instead of trying to help the farming sector, it feels at times the Wellington bureaucrats are trying to strangle it.
She says the one thing that has blown her away in her three years as president of Feds is the lack of knowledge and understanding of farming by policy makers in Wellington.
“There are some officials that get it, there are some that get parts of it, but it seems to me that a lot of assumptions about agriculture are made by people who don’t understand the nuances of food production.
“Producing food consistently is actually quite difficult and it is so important to have farming voices in Wellington around these decision makers,” she says.
Milne says the decisions that policy makers come up with dramatically affect farmers’ lives. She says the bad decisions are not deliberate, but come as result of fewer New Zealanders having connections to farms.
She says if people Google an issue, quite often the answer they get will have no relevance to NZ whatsoever. Milne says farming is complex and the aspirations and goals of farmers are different.
Coming up with a policy solution is not easy, but she says the solution must be relevant to the NZ situation.
“It is said that we need all of NZ’s economic champions to be firing, so why nobble them – especially agriculture,” she says.
Boutique Waikato cheese producer Meyer Cheese is investing in a new $3.5 million facility, designed to boost capacity and enhance the company's sustainability credentials.
OPINION: The Government's decision to rule out changes to Fringe Benefit Tax (FBT) that would cost every farmer thousands of dollars annually, is sensible.
Compensation assistance for farmers impacted by Mycoplama bovis is being wound up.
Selecting the reverse gear quicker than a lovestruck boyfriend who has met the in-laws for the first time, the Coalition Government has confirmed that the proposal to amend Fringe Benefit Tax (FBT) charged against farm utes has been canned.
Holstein Friesian excellence was front and centre at the 2025 Holstein Friesian NZ (HFNZ) Awards, held recently in Invercargill.
The work Fonterra has done with Ballance Agri-Nutrients Ltd, LIC and Ravensdown to save farmers time through better data connections has been recognised with a national award.