Go woke!
OPINION: The Hound reckons the powers at Landcorp (or as they/them like to call themselves, Pāmu) are coming under the microscope with the new government in place.
The threat of a big drought is prompting Westpac to contact its farmer clients to see what help they may need.
Andrew Hill, senior manager of risk and strategy for agribusiness, says the bank is talking to farmers and their families who are under stress, to see what the bank can do now to help them personally, and to buy extra feed if needed.
“We will be… asking what contingency plans they have made,” he told Rural News.
“We are starting to hear about people talking about once-a-day milking and starting to look after their better-performing cows to try to maintain production and make sure cows recently mated don’t lose their calves.”
Hill says farmers early-on have been using surplus cash to repay debt. But he acknowledges that with the likely lower dairy payout less cash will be around and farmers must manage this well.
Meanwhile, Agriculture Minister Damien O’Connor says the ongoing dry is forcing hard decisions on more farmers and horticulturalists. Recent rains were insufficient; MPI is watching this and regularly updating him.
“Government acknowledges we are facing climate change,” he says. “Now all primary sectors must build more resilient systems to deal with the changes in climate that we have experienced in the last few years.”
O’Connor says on his own patch, the West Coast, the lack of rain is challenging farmers.
This is backed up Rebecca Keoghan, who runs Landcorp farms on the West Coast and is a director of Westland Milk Products. She describes the situation as “hideous”.
“People are saying it’s a green drought, but we are actually in the midst of a brown drought now because there is no grass anywhere in the region. What little rain we have had won’t be enough to make a change. I suspect part of our season is lost; I don’t think we’ll recover from it unless we get a decent rain.”
Keoghan says Landcorp has been planning a drought strategy for about 18 months and is well prepared to cope. She says the Coast has gone from the wettest winter in 40 years to the driest summer in 40 years.
Federated Farmers president Wayne Langford is claiming “some real success” on the 12 policy priorities it placed before the Coalition Government.
Federated Farmers is throwing its support behind the Fast-track Approvals Bill introduced by the Coalition Government to enable a fast-track decision-making process for infrastructure and development projects.
The latest report from ANZ isn’t good news for sheep farmers: lamb returns are forecast to remain low.
Divine table grapes that herald the start of a brand-new industry in Hawke’s Bay have been coming off vines in Maraekakaho.
In what appears to be a casualty of the downturn in the agricultural sector, a well-known machinery brand is now in the hands of liquidators and owing creditors $6.6 million.
One of New Zealand’s deepest breeder Jersey herds – known for its enduring connection through cattle with the UK’s longest reigning monarch, Queen Elizabeth II – will host its 75th anniversary celebration sale on-farm on April 22.