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National's Todd McClay is the new Minister of Agriculture, Forestry and Trade.
The new Coalition Government unveiled today will have several farmers holding associate minister roles outside Cabinet.
As expected, National’s Todd McClay is the new Minister of Agriculture, Forestry and Trade. He will have a team of farmers assisting him in associate roles.
Former Federated Farmers president Andrew Hoggard is the Associate Minister of Agriculture overseeing animal welfare and skills and Associate Minister for the Environment. The first-term MP is also Minister for Biosecurity and Food Safety but will sit outside Cabinet.
Otago sheep and beef farmer Mark Patterson, NZ First, is Minister for Rural Communities and Associate Minister of Agriculture and will also sit outside Cabinet.
National’s Nicola Grigg, who was raised on the family farm at Mt Somers, is Associate Minister of Agriculture with a focus on horticulture. She’s also outside Cabinet and will be Minister of State for Trade and Minister for Women.
The three-part Coalition – made up of National, NZ First and ACT – announced their ministerial list today. Farmers will be watching with interest how the new Government deals with climate change on tackling on-farm emissions.
Prime Minister-elect Christpher Luxon says all the three leaders are committed to climate change.
"It is a major focus for us," he says.
He says the government is determined to get its "emission profiles" down but it will be different from the way the previous government did it.
There's been widespread support from the primary sector for the Government's announcement on changes to freshwater farm plans that come under the Natural Environment Bill, which is now set to replace the existing RMA.
Just a matter of hours after Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi's historic trip to New Zealand, the political doors in India swung wide open for Associate Minister of Agriculture, Mark Patterson, who was there to help promote our high-quality coarse wool.
Changes to an act of parliament seen as critical to speeding up access to overseas products to control pests and invasive species in NZ is unlikely to get passed before the November election.
The country's second largest milk processor is warning against 'complacency' during a review of competition regulations in the dairy sector.
Agriculture Minister Todd McClay has admitted that a scheme bringing workers from Pacific nations to work on orchards has become too hard to navigate but says changes are coming.
OPINION: David Seymour and James Meager's plan to make it easier for farmers and orchardists to operate drones can best be described a 'courageous' move.
New Zealand wool is reaching new heights as air filtration companies move away from synthetic products to biodegradable alternatives.
Opuha Dam's ability to protect South Canterbury communities from major flooding has taken a significant step forward, with Opuha Water Limited (OWL) successfully commissioning a new outlet valve capable of releasing record volumes of water from the dam ahead of a weather event.
There's been widespread support from the primary sector for the Government's announcement on changes to freshwater farm plans that come under the Natural Environment Bill, which is now set to replace the existing RMA.
A partnership between state-owned enterprise Pāmu (Landcorp Farming Limited) and charity Meet the Need is putting more than quality New Zealand beef into food bank parcels this year.
The Opportunity Party has faced criticism during the election campaign that its policies are too urban-focused and offer little for rural communities.
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