Building trust
OPINION: The war of words between Southland farmers and Environment Southland over winter grazing inspections reflects a deep lack of trust among farmers for the regional council.
Anderson recognises no one can dictate to journalists what to publish, he’d like to see more honest reporting.
He plans to reach out to other primary sector organisations such as Beef + Lamb NZ, DairyNZ, HortNZ and the meat processors to change things.
Anderson says it’s been a tough couple of years for his members.
“We have had poor lamb and mutton prices until this year and of course wool is in a disgraceful situation, but the farmers are fairly confident. The big question is whether the current pricing is to do with procurement or is market-based,” he says.
In his role as chair of meat and fibre, Anderson says he’d like to see a continuation of some of the projects set up by his predecessor, Rick Powdrell. These include a future-focused project looking at sustainable returns long term for the meat industry, and a project in the wool sector.
“We are also tied up in the water and nutrient debate and we have, I guess, been sidelined somewhat until now,” Anderson told Rural News. “This is because a lot of us are low emitters and thought that we were not going to be part of the solution, but we are part of the solution because we are part of the problem,” he says.
