increase font size
ACT primary industries spokesperson Mark Cameron.
ACT primary industries spokesperson Mark Cameron has joined the chorus of people asking the Government to hold off on the deadline for farmers to submit their farm environment plans.
He joins Beef + Lamb New Zealand, Federated Farmers and DairyNZ in the call.
“With the November 1st cut off date approaching fast it’s estimated more than 40% of farmers have been unable to get a plan formulated. In the absence of farm environment plans it’ll be up to overworked councils to grant consents for next year’s winter grazing crops,” Cameron says.
He says councils are overworked and under resourced, labelling the assumption they could work through the number of on-farm consents required a “pipe dream”, particularly for farmers in Otago and Southland who are preparing for next year’s winter grazing crops.
“Farm environment plans are an integral part of farming operations, but the resources available to farmers to get them done and the tight timeframes simply don’t make sense.”
Cameron points to the most recent Federated Farmers Farmer Confidence Survey, which recorded the lowest levels of confidence among farmers since the survey’s inception in 2009.
“As a dairy farmer myself, I know that farmers are best environmentalists around. We kept the economy going through COVID. It’s time the Government gave us a break.”
Claims that some Southland farmers were invoiced up to $4000 for winter grazing compliance checks despite not breaching rules are being rejected by Environment Southland.
The ACT Party's call for a better deal on the Paris Agreement on climate change is being backed by farmer organisations.
OPINION: Is the Government's taxonomy proposal dead in the water?
OPINION: ACT MP Mark Cameron isn’t everyone’s cup of tea, but he certainly calls it how he sees it, holding nothing back when ‘climate scientists’ had a crack at Kiwi farmers recently:
Winter grazing is looming again and the Ministry for Primary Industries says it's going to increase proactive farm visits and provide practical advice for farmers in the lead up to the season.
Kiwis are wasting less of their food than they were two years ago, and this has been enough to push New Zealand’s total household food waste bill lower, the 2025 Rabobank KiwiHarvest Food Waste survey has found.
OPINION: Sir Lockwood Smith has clearly and succinctly defined what academic freedom is all about, the boundaries around it and the responsibility that goes with this privilege.
DairyNZ says its plantain programme continues to deliver promising results, with new data confirming that modest levels of plantain in pastures reduce nitrogen leaching, offering farmers a practical, science-backed tool to meet environmental goals.
'Common sense' cuts to government red tape will make it easier for New Zealand to deliver safe food to more markets.
Balclutha farmer Renae Martin remembers the moment she fell in love with cows.
Academic freedom is a privilege and it's put at risk when people abuse it.
