Feds make case for rural bank lending probe
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.
Federated Farmers policy team staff reductions haven't just been about saving money or reducing headcount, chief executive Terry Copeland claims.
"We've also made some significant changes to the structure of our organisation to make sure we can deliver the best possible outcomes for our members with the resources we have."
Copeland told Rural News that as a result of the restructuring, its policy team would be reduced by 6.5 full-time employees (FTE) - with 3.5 being regional policy staff and three national policy staff. As four positions were already vacant this meant that only 2.5 FTE would actually be made redundant.
"We are working through that process now with staff," he says. "Federated Farmers still have 23 people working in policy across the country. This is a large and well-resourced team."
Asked about what changes were planned to distribute the present workload amongst a smaller number of employees, Copeland says Feds was working with its provincial presidents, board, and staff to prioritise work in the policy team.
"We will still be working on all the big things farmers expect us to be, but the reality is that we can't do everything," he says.
"We're also working with other groups like DairyNZ and Beef+Lamb NZ to see where we can get some efficiencies. We don't expect most members to notice much of a difference in the service they receive from Federated Farmers."
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.
The Ministry for Primary Industries (MPI) has informed staff it will cut 391 jobs following a consultation period.