Crazy
OPINION: Your canine crusader was truly impressed by the almost unanimous support given by politicians of all stripes in Parliament to the recent passing of legislation for the NZ/EU free trade deal.
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."
A vet is calling for all animals to be vaccinated against a new strain of leptospirosis (lepto) discovered on New Zealand dairy farms in recent years.
Two major red meat sector projects are getting up to a combined $1.7 million in funding from the New Zealand Meat Board (NZMB).
Angus Barr and Tara Dwyer of The Wandle, Lone Star Farms in Strath Taieri have been named the Regional Supreme Winners at the Otago Ballance Farm Environment Awards in Dunedin.
OPINION: The distress that the politicians and bureaucrats are causing to the people of Wairoa and the wider Tairāwhiti is unforgivable.
Dairy
Rural banker Rabobank is partnering with Food Rescue Kitchen on a new TV series which airs this weekend that aims to shine a light on the real and growing issues of food waste, food poverty and social isolation in New Zealand.
OPINION: The new government has clearly signalled big cuts across the public service.
OPINION: Your canine crusader is not surprised by the recent news that New Zealand plant-based ‘fake meat’ business is in…