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OPINION: On the 2nd of May, Agriculture Minister Todd McClay announced that the 'government remains on track to ban full farm-to-forestry conversion'.
Sounds great and it was welcomed by Fed Farmers.
But in a matter of a couple of days, the news comes out that the Overseas Investment Office (OIO) has given permission for two central Hawke's Bay farms to be sold for forestry.
The OIO claims this will benefit NZ. Who are they kidding?
Livestock farming offers much more employment to communities than plain old pines.
So, is the OIO not listening to Todd McClay or is he not getting the message out?
Before long, NZ will be known as the land of the long green forest - not the land of the long white cloud.
Come on Minister, do something more than sending out press releases.
OPINION: While we're on the topic of lumberjacks, Biosecurity Minister Andrew Hoggard has no doubt used a chainsaw hundreds of times, but your old mate reckons he would’ve still been sweating on getting it right when cutting down a pine in front of the cameras, as he did above Queenstown during a recent pre-Budget announcement around extra funding for wilding pine control efforts.
The Government is funding a feasibility study to investigate what would be required for a successful farmer-led purchase of the McCain Foods' vegetable processing site in Hastings.
Wilding pines are the wrong tree in the wrong place, and they need to go, says Biosecurity Minister Andrew Hoggard.
Federated Farmers says the Government’s latest investment in road resilience is a positive step toward protecting rural communities and freight routes from increasing severe weather events.
The stark realities of the world trade that New Zealand is having to face have been revealed by Trade Minister Todd McClay.
A Waihi dairy farmer, Keith Torrens, has been convicted and fined $39,000 for the unlawful discharge of dairy effluent following a prosecution taken by Waikato Regional Council.
Taranaki's sunshine and energy sector expertise are powering a new approach to renewable energy, with the launch of BlueGreen Frontiers.
Meridian Energy says it welcomes the Fast-Track Panel's draft decision proposing the easing of access restrictions on Lake Pūkaki hydro storage for a three-year period.
The science underpinning New Zealand's dairy, beef and sheep grazing systems was largely established from the 1950s onward, but new analysis shows that the climate those systems were built for has shifted significantly.
Beef + Lamb New Zealand (B+LNZ) has unveiled a new tool to help sheep farmers better understand the genetics in their flock and make more informed decisions.
Classified as an unwanted organism under the Biosecurity Act, the invasive weed velvetleaf can be resistant to many herbicides, making it difficult to control, while statistics note it has the potential to reduce yields by up to 70%.
