End of war on farming, say farmers
Federated Farmers says changes announced to the Resource Management Act today mark the end of the war on farming.
Federated Farmers previous president, William Rolleston, was very supportive of GE and there was a perception that Feds was leading the charge in support of the science — but this could now cost them.
When Northland Regional Council declared itself GMO-free Feds went to law and challenged this, but it has lost badly and could face a hefty legal bill for enthusiastically supporting GE.
Meanwhile the Feds president, Katie Milne, says she’s taken aback by the fervour of the judge’s remarks and the issue of costs. The possible awarding of costs against a party in such an appeal is unusual, she says.
“No one likes decisions that go against them, but we did have a lot of people who supported our stance,” she says.
Katie Milne says Feds took the case because they believed it was wrong for local government to have a role in controlling the use of GMOs and that this should be left to central government. She believes local government doesn’t have the expertise to deal with the GMO issue.
She says the federation is looking to keep the door open to new technologies that could help farmers and she would like to hear a mature, unemotional conversation take place on such technologies.
The country’s 4200 commercial fruit and vegetable growers will vote from May 14 on a new HortNZ levy.
Meat processor Alliance Group is asking farmer shareholders to inject more capital in order to remain a 100% co-operative.
A vet is calling for all animals to be vaccinated against a new strain of leptospirosis (lepto) discovered on New Zealand dairy farms in recent years.
Dairy
Rural banker Rabobank is partnering with Food Rescue Kitchen on a new TV series which airs this weekend that aims to shine a light on the real and growing issues of food waste, food poverty and social isolation in New Zealand.
Telco infrastructure provider Chorus says that it believes all Kiwis – particularly those in the rural areas – need access to high-speed, reliable broadband.
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