Federated Farmers urge government to honour KiwiSaver promise
Federated Farmers is calling on the Government to deliver on its pre-election promise to change the KiwiSaver rules to help young farmers get their foot on the farming ladder.
A farming leader claims that government regulations are suffocating innovation on farm.
Whanganui Federated Farmers president Mike Cranstone says so much of regulations that are in place or coming are disruptive to farmers. He says the Government should be trying to harness the innovation of farmers rather than stifling this with a host of regulations.
Cranstone and his wife Cath breed Ezicalve yearling bulls primarily for the dairy industry but also for the meat industry. He says the aim of breeding such animals is to add value to the dairy industry. His family have farmed out at Fordell since 1905 and over the years the various generations have built the farm up to its present state of 1,450 hectares.
He says one of the problems is that the dairy industry produces about a million bobby calves a year and there has been some outcry on the slaughter of these animals which are essentially a by-product of the dairy industry;.
"The problem is there isn't the capacity on NZ farmers to cope with this number of animals now or in the future. So we need to look for other options," he says.
One of those options says Cranstone is exporting live animals. But any hope of doing that seems like to fall on deaf ears, with live exports by sea set to be completely banned by next April. This ban has attracted much controversy with some people in the farming sector saying it will cost NZ upwards of half a billion dollars in export earnings and others saying the ban shsould have been in place years ago.
Cranstone is one of those people who has exported live animals in the past and sees no reason that it shouldn't continue.
"The live export people have gold plated systems and so there is an opportunity to not only offer livestock overseas for breeding but also for meat. We see Wagyu animals being air freighted to Japan for the meat trade and I think we under appreciate what value there is in some overseas markets for other live animals," he says.
Cranstone says he's worried that a lot of blanket regulation coming out of government will deny the country the opportunity to solve soe of the social issues around farming especially in relation to bobby calves.
The Good Carbon Farm has partnered with Tolaga Bay Heritage Charitable Trust to deliver its first project in Tairāwhiti Gisborne.
Education union NZEI Te Riu Roa says that while educators will support the Government’s investment in learning support, they’re likely to be disappointed that it has been paid for by defunding expert teachers.
The Government says it is sharpening its focus and support for the food and fibre industry in Budget 2025.
A European Union regulation ensuring that the products its citizens consume do not contribute to deforestation or forest degradation worldwide threatens $200m of New Zealand beef and leather exports.
A long-acting, controlled- release capsule designed to protect ewes from internal parasites during the lambing period is back on the market following a comprehensive reassessment.
Healthcare appears to be the big winner in this year's budget as agriculture and environment miss out.