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.
Agriculture Minister Damien O'Connor has hit out at critics of the Government who want them to halt various water and climate change reforms.
He told delegates at the recent Red Meat Sector Conference in Rotorua that New Zealand "just has to keep moving on in that direction."
He claims the idea that we can keep on doing what we are doing is completely naive and will lead NZ up the wrong path.
O'Connor claims that the Government has been listening to critics of the freshwater reforms and has made changes.
"We have slowed down on the likes of the freshwater stuff.
"We took on board the signals that this was just dumb and that it hadn't been worked through in a practical sense," he says.
"We are listening, are trying to bring the people on the land with us, but we have to get the people on the land to understand that we are producing protein for some of the world's most discerning customers."
O'Connor claims these people want to know where our products come from and that we have looked after that production.
He says it doesn't help NZ's cause when farmers make mistakes with animal welfare or allow animals to be hock deep in muddy paddocks.
He adds that images and messages of these incidents are quickly picked up in the high value markets NZ wants to sell into.
In that respect, O'Connor says in his recent travels to the UK and Europe he was reminded once again of the market opportunities that await NZ because of our pasture-based system and general farm management systems.
He reckons these put us in the right spot for consumers who are interested in how we treat our animals, how we preserve our biodiversity and our commitment to research on issues such as climate change. He says little things like the bees that pollinate our pastures often get overlooked back in NZ but are often top of mind for overseas consumers.
O'Connor also gave a brief outline of his talks in Brussels and London.
"The UK is looking very positive and the EU says it plans to come back with an offer after their summer break," he told the conference.
"I would say the signals are positive as they want to connect with us because we share many of their core values.
South Waikato farm manager Ben Purua’s amazing transformation from gang life to milking cows was rewarded with the Ahuwhenua Young Maori Farmer award last night.
Bankers have been making record profits in the last few years, but those aren’t the only records they’ve been breaking, says Federated Farmers vice president Richard McIntyre.
The 2023-24 season has been a roller coaster ride for Waikato dairy farmers, according to Federated Farmers dairy section chair, Mathew Zonderop.
Ministry for Primary Industries (MPI) director general Ray Smith says job cuts announced this morning will not impact the way the Ministry is organised or merge business units.
Scales Corporation is acquiring a number of orchard assets from Bostock Group.
Family and solidarity shone through at the 75 years of Ferdon sale in Otorohanga last month.