Vintage requiring cooperation
OPINION: A common refrain last year was 'survive 'til 25', including from those in New Zealand's wine industry facing rising costs, surplus wine and sluggish export sales.
OPINION: Farmers have always been wary of the Resource Management Act (RMA).
Under the previous Labour government, further amendments were made to the legislation imposing a patchwork of restrictions on the way Kiwis use their land, all in the name of reducing emissions.
However, a member’s bill recently lodged by ACT MP and Northland dairy farmer Mark Cameron seeks to restore longstanding provisions to the RMA that prohibit regional councils from considering climate change as a factor in their plans.
Cameron’s bill would prevent regional and district councils from regulating greenhouse gas emissions and is a smart step for climate change policy.
After all, greenhouse gas emissions are a global rather than local challenge. It has never made sense for local councils to individually regulate greenhouse gas emissions.
As Cameron points out, property rights were sacrificed to the climate gods in a way that wouldn’t even reduce net emissions.
“It’s not feasible to have regional councils trying to save the world’s climate. In fact, it’s hopeless, because emissions are already managed nationally under the Emissions Trading Scheme.
Having regional councils regulate greenhouse gas emissions has the potential to create huge headaches for farmers.
Federated Farmers points out that Greater Wellington Regional Council (GWRC) has proposed a target of a 50% reduction in all greenhouse gas emissions by 2030, including biogenic methane.
For Wairarapa farmers who sit inside the GWRC’s boundaries, this means a resource consent application could set conditions that require farmers to reduce emissions in line with the 50% target. This raises questions for all resource consent applications. For example, could a new road or house fail a resource consent application if it wasn’t viewed as consistent with a 50% reduction?
None of this makes any sense when carbon dioxide emissions are already captured under the ETS.
That’s why Cameron’s bill makes sense.
OPINION: The shakeup to the science sector with the proposed merger of four ag related crown research institutes (CRIs) into one conglomerate has drawn little public reaction.
Alliance Group has secured greater access for chilled beef exports to China, following approval for two of its processing plants to supply the market.
The countdown is on to be one of the most anticipated events in the sheep and beef industry, the East Coast Farming Expo.
Applications for the 2025 intake of Rabobank's Farm Managers Programme (FMP) and Executive Development Programme (EDP) are now open.
Dean Smith has been in the role of CEO of Summerfruit NZ for about four months, having succeeded Kate Hellstrom at the end of September.
Beef + Lamb NZ wants farmers to complete a survey that will shed light on the financial toll of facial eczema (FE) at the farm level.
OPINION: Is Canterbury milk processor Synlait back in business?
OPINION: The fate of methane inhibitor Bovaer in NZ farming is still up in the air.