Urgent action needed to restore Waikato lakes' health
Waikato is home to a diverse range of lakes, and experts say they urgently need better management and restoration.
Federated Farmers says the government is finally acknowledging it has released freshwater regulations that will not work on farms.
The farmer lobby says the unworkable regulations that have become law, but have not yet even come into force, have already seen Southland farmers threaten to ignore the new requirement to get resource consents for using an animal feeding technique called winter grazing.
"This was going to be entirely unworkable for Southland farmers, and many others around the country during cold, wet winters," says Feds’ water spokesperson Chris Allen.
"This should be the start of many more changes to these regulations."
Agriculture Minister Damien O’Connor told The Country radio show today changes will be made on this issue and "there will be others [rules] that will need to be adjusted as we move forward".
Federated Farmers said he implied the changes had been discussed and agreed to in Cabinet yesterday.
"The statement that we all want to leave the land and water better than when we found it is not lost on Federated Farmers and its members. It’s the mantra we all live by," says Allen.
"Our concerns are not just over one single aspect of the direction or trajectory of the new regulations, but the fact that the new direction is complicated, not clear, and poorly defined."
"As drafted many farmers will end up being unable to comply, an outcome we are sure is not the government’s intent."
Phoebe Scherer, a technical manager from the Bay of Plenty, has won the 2025 Young Grower of the Year national title.
The Fencing Contractors Association of New Zealand (FCANZ) celebrated the best of the best at the 2025 Fencing Industry Awards, providing the opportunity to honour both rising talent and industry stalwarts.
Award-winning boutique cheese company, Cranky Goat Ltd has gone into voluntary liquidation.
As an independent review of the National Pest Management Plan for TB finds the goal of complete eradication by 2055 is still valide, feedback is being sought on how to finish the job.
Beef + Lamb New Zealand has launched an AI-powered digital assistant to help farmers using the B+LNZ Knowledge Hub to create tailored answers and resources for their farming businesses.
A tiny organism from the arid mountains of mainland Greece is facilitating a new way of growing healthier animals on farms across New Zealand.
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