Damien O’Connor Criticises Budget 2026 as ‘Miserable’ for Rural New Zealand
A miserable budget that didn’t deliver much for anyone.
OPINION: Agriculture Minister Damien O'Connor's hurried exit from a farming radio interview has left farmers perplexed.
Last week, O'Connor fielded some tough questions on The Rural Roundup including the animal welfare code changes.
"I'll let you carry on and talk, okay mate, see you.....," said O'Connor before hanging up.
Some farmers took to Twitter to have a dig at the Minister.
"O'Connor was aggressive from the start. Maybe he woke up on the wrong side of his electric ute?" says one tweet.
In advance of the Budget, Finance Minister Nicola Willis put a clear damper on expectations and delivered accordingly.
Farmers should be cautiously optimistic as the 2026/27 season kicks off, says DairyNZ.
RaboResearch senior analyst Emma Higgins expects the 2026/27 dairy season to be another profitable one.
The new dairy season is kicking off with plenty of risks to the forecast farmgate price, both upside and downside, says ANZ agricultural economist Matt Dilly.
A potential showdown between the top two Federated Farmers leaders looms at the farmer lobby's annual meeting later this month.
FarmIQ Systems has developed a free land management app to help remove barriers to New Zealand farmers and growers adopting digital tools.