increase font size
Katie Milne says Feds have been at the forefront of discussions between Government and the rural sector on how to manage farming services during the lockdown.
Federated Farmers president Katie Milne has described the first week on COVID-19 lockdown as “good but nerve racking”.
The West Coast farmer says with COVID-19 numbers climbing in rural areas, the farming sector is also feeling vulnerable.
Milne told Rural News that farmers were getting on what they can within the rules of the Alert 4 Level lockdown.
“We are all getting on with what we can safely – distancing from each other’s bubbles and sanitising,” she says.
“All are on tenterhooks hoping all our service providers like meat companies, dairy companies, vets, pack houses and others stay well so we can carry on preparing for winter.”
Milne and Federated Farmers have been at the forefront of discussions between Government and the rural sector on how to manage farming services during the lockout.
She says it not too far-fetched an analogy to say the nation is at war: this time the enemy is microscopic but still deadly.
“And just as farming and food supply was regarded as essential services during both World Wars, the Government has again given us that status under the COVID-19 lockdown.
“As we face huge economic disruption, as a country, we’re holding onto a small number of economic life rafts.
“Farming is one of them.
“The export income we continue to earn is crucial now, and as we recover at the other end of this crisis.”
But the seriousness of the COVID-19 was catching up in rural areas.
Milne says farmers are also feeling as vulnerable as those surrounded by people in cities now that numbers of COVID-19 cases are also climbing in rural areas.
She is urging farmers to stay in their “bubbles” during the lockdown.
Using separate vehicles to get to other farms is all part of what should be done if those needed on the job are not part of your “at home bubble’.
“Keeping our personal bubbles intact is paramount for our family safety as well as our wider communities.”
Academic Dr Mike Joy and his employer, Victoria University of Wellington have apologised for his comments suggesting that dairy industry CEOs should be hanged for contributing towards nitrate poisoning of waterways.
A comment by outspoken academic Dr Mike Joy suggesting that dairy industry leaders should be hanged for nitrate contamination of drinking/groundwater has enraged farmers.
OPINION: The previous government spent too much during the Covid-19 pandemic, despite warnings from officials, according to a briefing released by the Treasury.
Federated Farmers says the final report into banking competition is a significant step forward for rural New Zealand - and a vindication of the farming sector's concern.
Farmer lobby group Federated Farmers has announced it is supporting a new Member’s Bill which it says could bring clarity to New Zealand farmers and save millions in legal costs.
Foot and Mouth Disease outbreaks could have a detrimental impact on any country's rural sector, as seen in the United Kingdom's 2000 outbreak that saw the compulsory slaughter of over six million animals.
The Ministry for the Environment is joining as a national award sponsor in the Ballance Farm Environment Awards (BFEA from next year).
Kiwis are wasting less of their food than they were two years ago, and this has been enough to push New Zealand’s total household food waste bill lower, the 2025 Rabobank KiwiHarvest Food Waste survey has found.
OPINION: Sir Lockwood Smith has clearly and succinctly defined what academic freedom is all about, the boundaries around it and the responsibility that goes with this privilege.
DairyNZ says its plantain programme continues to deliver promising results, with new data confirming that modest levels of plantain in pastures reduce nitrogen leaching, offering farmers a practical, science-backed tool to meet environmental goals.
'Common sense' cuts to government red tape will make it easier for New Zealand to deliver safe food to more markets.
