increase font size
Federated Farmers' spokeswoman on local government, Katie Milne.
Farmers are being urged to get involved in the upcoming local authority elections.
Federated Farmers' spokeswoman on local government, Katie Milne, says local government elections are vitally important for farming on many levels, and she is encouraging farmers to make their voices heard.
"It is crucial that farmers get involved in holding their councils to account. This includes being engaged on the issues and when the time comes making an informed vote.
"It’s also important that we get good candidates, including farmers and other business-minded people, to stand for election," she says.
"It’s a challenging role but farmers can make a difference on councils, informing and educating [other councilors] about what happens on-farm, which is crucial for getting sensible, workable outcomes."
Milne says that the way local government is funded, by property value based rates, has a big impact on farms' financial viability.
"The average farm now pays well over $10,000 per year in rates and rates are often in the top half dozen farm expenses. As a fixed cost there is no way for farms to cut it back, short of selling up, during downturns like the current one."
Local Government NZ has published a guide for candidates, and has launched a campaign to boost flagging voter numbers.
Federated Farmers will produce a local elections manifesto on key issues farmers and candidates should think about.
Academic Dr Mike Joy and his employer, Victoria University of Wellington have apologised for his comments suggesting that dairy industry CEOs should be hanged for contributing towards nitrate poisoning of waterways.
A comment by outspoken academic Dr Mike Joy suggesting that dairy industry leaders should be hanged for nitrate contamination of drinking/groundwater has enraged farmers.
Federated Farmers says the final report into banking competition is a significant step forward for rural New Zealand - and a vindication of the farming sector's concern.
Farmer lobby group Federated Farmers has announced it is supporting a new Member’s Bill which it says could bring clarity to New Zealand farmers and save millions in legal costs.
Federated Farmers says climate protest group Greenpeace is manufacturing outrage and attempting to scare New Zealanders with headlines that have no basis in science.
Phoebe Scherer, a technical manager from the Bay of Plenty, has won the 2025 Young Grower of the Year national title.
The Fencing Contractors Association of New Zealand (FCANZ) celebrated the best of the best at the 2025 Fencing Industry Awards, providing the opportunity to honour both rising talent and industry stalwarts.
Award-winning boutique cheese company, Cranky Goat Ltd has gone into voluntary liquidation.
As an independent review of the National Pest Management Plan for TB finds the goal of complete eradication by 2055 is still valide, feedback is being sought on how to finish the job.
Beef + Lamb New Zealand has launched an AI-powered digital assistant to help farmers using the B+LNZ Knowledge Hub to create tailored answers and resources for their farming businesses.
A tiny organism from the arid mountains of mainland Greece is facilitating a new way of growing healthier animals on farms across New Zealand.
