ORC piling more regulation on farmers - Feds
Federated Farmers claims that the Otago Regional Council is charging ahead unnecessarily with piling more regulation on rural communities.
Federated Farmers dairy chairman Andrew Hoggard says he's intrigued at the way most other countries deal with environmental issues on dairy farms.
Just home from the World Dairy congress in Lithuania, he says most countries in the northern hemisphere, including the US and Canada, focus their regulations on inputs, whereas in New Zealand the focus is on outputs.
Hoggard says environmental issues were a big topic at the congress and he learned from a Lithuanian delegate how his and other nations manage the environment.
"They have rules on how much effluent they can spread to land; they are focused on the inputs into the farming system. But NZ we have Overseer and the focus is on what a farmer must ultimately control in terms of outputs. The Lithuanian delegate and the others didn't seem to understand and grasp the idea of measuring the output. So in that sense we are different from the rest of the world."
In Europe, for example, the legislation is prescriptive: a large rulebook sets out under what circumstances effluent can be spread or sprayed on pasture. The law tells farmers what to do, whereas in NZ the law states what outcomes have to be achieved and the onus is on the farmer to run his system in such a way that he meets the law.
During the congress the TPP talks were in full flight and when Hoggard told the audience that freeing up trade would solve a lot of the volatility problems in the global dairy sector his remarks were met with stunned silence.
"I told them the present volatility is caused because dairy is such a thinly traded market and that when you get a small supply increase or a small demand decrease that has a big impact. The fact is a 1% production increase can result in a 40% price decrease. The suggestion that trade liberalisation might solve this didn't meet with much favour," he says.
The other major issue raised at the congress related to the anti-milk lobby, Hoggard says. Overseas every week there are reports about the value or otherwise of milk -- some saying milk is great, a few that it's bad. The notion that milk is bad has little traction in NZ, Hoggard says.
The only adverse material he's seen is on the SAFE website which he dismisses as nuts.
Analysis by Dunedin-based Techion New Zealand shows the cost of undetected drench resistance in sheep has exploded to an estimated $98 million a year.
Shipping disruption caused by Houthi rebels in the Red Sea has so far not impacted fertiliser prices or supply on farm.
The opportunity to spend more time on farm while providing a dedicated service for shareholders attracted new environmental manager Ben Howden to work for Waimakariri Irrigation Limited (WIL).
Federated Farmers claims that the Otago Regional Council is charging ahead unnecessarily with piling more regulation on rural communities.
Dairy sheep and goat farmers are being told to reduce milk supply as processors face a slump in global demand for their products.
OPINION: We have good friends from way back who had lived in one of our major cities for many years.
OPINION: European farmers are going to extreme lengths to have their message heard.
OPINION: The hustle and bustle of one of Bangkok's most popular fast food outlets may feel a world away from…