Share, spread goodwill this festive season
OPINION: As you sit down to read my column today, I trust all is well at your place.
European farmers have been protesting for weeks. Photo Credit: EPP Group in the EU Parliament Facebook Page.
OPINION: As I sit at my keyboard today, I trust all is well with you. In our part of this great little country we live in, we have been enjoying something of a wet summer. We had a major flood over the last weekend of January.
February 4th we were on the road driving into town; it was a beautiful clear but somewhat chilly summer morning. Coming over the hill we caught a stunning panoramic view of the three National Park mountains. To our surprise, both Ruapehu and Ngauruhoe were covered in snow. It was well down too, not just a light sprinkling here and there. Oh, for a camera, I thought to myself. Yep, I’ve got to admit, I wanted to capture for the record this rather graphic example of global warming!
I have been following with interest all the farmers’ protests happening in Europe the last few weeks. What began in the Netherlands has now spilled over into several other European nations. Local farmers and food producers have come together en masse, in numbers not seen before. They have been standing up against their governments’ attempts to ram the madness of extreme green agendas down their throats. It really has been a vivid example of the influence ‘we the people’ can have if we come together and stand in unity together.
In pursuing some unbiased news about it all, I actually got to see a very interesting interview with one spokesman from the Dutch farmers group. He mentioned how they were limited to planting certain crops at certain times, all dictated to them by their own government. Of course, behind the scenes, it was the EU heavies calling the shots.
Now, here’s the bit that really surprised me. Their government had their own farmers under satellite surveillance, to keep them in line. That’s right! He said they were getting checked every three days by satellite surveillance. Wow, how extreme is that?!
I think it was the interviewer who raised the point; even the drug traffickers don’t get anything like that kind of close-up, rigid surveillance. Immediately I thought, well, the child traffickers certainly don’t face that either. Nope, it’s the local farmers – their food producers – who are the “enemies of the state” here.
Their spokesman also mentioned how they had all quickly been labelled as ‘far-right extremists’ by those in power. Sadly, that’s a typical response from those in power, in these deceptive days we’re living in.
He clearly stated it wasn’t politics or hardline political bias for them, but rather their farms and their very livelihoods that were at stake. And some of those farms had been with the same families for generations.
These very farmers are all food producers, which begs the question: why is that no longer important?
This stuff is not science, but rather an ideology that’s getting mandated more and more by the privileged few who hold the reins of power. And the extremists’ accusations, you ask? To me it is obvious who the extremists are in all of this – and it’s certainly not the farmers!
Yep, we are surely living in deceptive times. I continue to be amazed at the phone and internet scams that just keep on coming. And people still fall for them!
Right here is yet another time when having good friends is so critical. They just may know something I don’t.
And yes, for those like me with an active faith, greater wisdom than our own is readily available.
To contact Colin: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
The World Wide Sires National All Day Breeds Best Youth Camp Best All Rounder plaudit has become family affair, with 2026 Paramount Cup winner Holly Williams following in her sister Zara's footsteps.
DairyNZ is giving New Zealand farmers a unique opportunity to gain hands-on governance and leadership experience within the dairy sector.
Herd improvement company LIC has posted a 5.2% lift in half-year revenue, thanks to increasing demand for genetics.
According to the latest Fresh Produce Trend Report from United Fresh, 2026 will be a year where fruit and vegetables are shaped by cost pressures, rapid digital adoption, and a renewed focus on wellbeing at home.
The Roar is a highlight of the game hunting calendar in New Zealand, with thousands of hunters set to head for the hills to hunt male stags during March and April.
OPINION: The past few weeks have been tough on farms across the North Island: floods and storms have caused damage and disruption to families and businesses.

OPINION: Meanwhile, red blooded Northland politician Matua Shane Jones has provided one of the most telling quotes of the year…
OPINION: This old mutt has been around for a few years now and it seems these ‘once in 100-year’ weather…