increase font size
Jane Smith will chair a meeting of rural advocacy groups.
A 'national forum' of rural industry advocates is set to be held later this month.
Rural News understands the meeting will be chaired by North Otago farmer and rural advocate, Jane Smith. The gathering will involve groups such as 50 Shades of Green, Groundswell, Rural Advocacy Network, Farmers for Positive Change and the High Country Accord amongst others and also include farmer wellbeing experts.
It is believed the catalyst for the forum is that these groups - formed by farmers and growers dissatisfied by impending regulation outcomes and disappointed by the lack of pushback to such reforms from official farming bodies such as Beef + Lamb NZ and DairyNZ - are looking for 'unity' in the farming voice.
When contacted by Rural News, Smith declined to comment on the details surrounding the possibility of hosting such a forum.
"This is not because of any secrecy," she says. "But out of respect for the tireless work that these groups are doing out of their own pocket."
Smith says the fact that a meeting of 'like minds' isn't about empowering or forming another group.
"It's about getting a collective understanding of the areas that each group and individual is working within," she told Rural News. "These groups are a powerful voice and should not be viewed by funded advocacy organisations as a threat - but as an asset to the industry."
It begs the question that if the current rural advocacy structure is fit-for-purpose, would there be any need for these groups?
OPINION: Many sheep and beef farmers will be worse off under the new environment legislation than they were under the Resource Management Act (RMA), claims Beef+Lamb New Zealand (B+LNZ) in an email to levy payers.
A drop in methane targets announced by the Government this month has pleased farmers but there are concerns that without cross-party support, the targets would change once a Labour-led Government is voted into office.
OPINION: This old mutt is loath to sound like Groundswell has been topping up his bowl with brisket off-cuts, but the ginger group makes a good point about the arguments raised in favour of toeing the Paris Agreement line.
The ACT Party's call for a better deal on the Paris Agreement on climate change is being backed by farmer organisations.
OPINION: For most farmers and readers, the term Sustainable Finance Taxonomy will make little sense.
New Zealand Food Safety (NZFS) is sharing guidance to prevent people from contracting listeriosis, a rare yet life-threatening foodborne illness.
As cost-of-living pressures continue to bite Kiwi households, the Fruit in Schools (FIS) programme is helping fuel learning and improve the health and wellbeing of 127,000 children and staff.
OPINION: Public opinion, political pragmatism and commercial and market reality have caused the Government to abandon introducing legislation into Parliament to legalise the shipment by sea of live animals - mainly cows - to overseas destinations.
Safer Farms has welcomed its first three regional champions that will be taking the Farm Without Harm message directly into their rural communities.
Farm software outfit Trev has released new integrations with LIC, giving farmers a more connected view of animal performance across the season and turning routine data capture into actionable farm intelligence.
Crafting a successful family succession plan is a notoriously hard act to pull off.
OPINION: Election years are usually regarded as the silly season, but a mate of the Hound reckons 2026 is shaping…
OPINION: If farmers poured just a few litres of some pollutant into a stream, the Green Party and the wider…
