Green but not much grass!
Dairy farmers in the lower North Island are working on protecting next season, according to Federated Farmers dairy chair Richard McIntyre, who farms just north of the Horowhenua township of Levin.
Federated Farmers have announced a nine-stop rural roadshow opposing the proposed replacement for the Resource Management Act (RMA).
Federated Farmers RMA reform spokesperson Mark Hooper says the issue isn’t that the farmer organisation doesn’t want to see reform of the RMA, but that the reforms need to be done right to address issues of cost and complexity.
“The current legislation just ties farmers up in red tape, slows us down, and heaps on unnecessary costs – but the Government’s proposed reforms will only make that worse. It’s an absolute nightmare for farmers,” he says.
Hooper says Federated Farmers ‘strongly opposes’ the current reforms because they shift land use planning away from councils towards Regional Planning Committees, which he says will be at arm’s length from their local communities.
“We also have real concerns that the reforms will introduce new, vague and undefined concepts that will create huge uncertainty for landowners and likely lead to time and money wasted with legal challenges through the courts,” he says.
He says that instead of rushing to pass the legislation before the 2023 election, the Government needs to take its time.
“This is too important for them to get it wrong.”
“Any farmer worth their salt would tell them that if it’s worth doing, it’s worth doing right. The current reforms are fatally flawed, and they need to go back to the drawing board,” Hooper says.
The roadshow will kick off in Ashburton on Tuesday 30th May before continuing on to Alexandra, Gore, Invercargill, Masterton, Palmerston North, Whanganui, New Plymouth and Te Awamutu.
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New Zealand dairy processors are welcoming the Government’s commitment to continuing to push for Canada to honour its trade commitments.
An educational programme, set up by Beef + Land New Zealand, to connect farmers virtually with primary and intermediate school students has reported the successful completion of its second year.
The Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations (FAO) has welcomed a resolution adopted by the United Nations (UN) General Assembly to declare 2026 International Year of the Woman Farmer.
Waikato herd health veterinarian Katrina Roberts is the 2024 Fonterra Dairy Woman of the Year.
Horticulture NZ chief executive Nadine Tunley will step down in August.
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