NZ avocado growers gain FernMark export licence
New Zealand avocado growers have received a major boost by securing a collective FernMark Licence for their exports.
Agriculture Minister Todd McClay says the hard-working men and women of rural New Zealand are playing their part to help rebuild the economy.
McClay says that interest rates and on-farm inflation have turned a corner, meaning farmers can continue to innovate and boost productivity while working to meet environmental obligations.
“With 80% of all the goods coming from the primary sector and more than 350,000 Kiwis employed because of rural activity, farming, forestry, and horticulture remains a mainstay of the NZ economic activity,” McClay says.
He says the Government’s target of doubling exports by value over ten years provides an opportunity to work with the primary sector to add value and deliver greater returns at the farm gate.
“The Government has huge respect for our farmers,” he says. “We will continue to partner with them to drive down costs, simplify regulations and build trust as we get Wellington out of farming.”
“This Government trusts farmers and will continue to back them to deliver for NZ, rural communities can be assured that we have the best and most connected team of Ministers from all over New Zealand working hard on delivering for them,” McClay says.
The team meeting at the Culverden Hotel was relaxed and open, despite being in the middle of calving when stress levels are at peak levels, especially in bitterly cold and wet conditions like today.
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.
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Driven by a lifelong passion for animals, Amy Toughey's journey from juggling three jobs with full-time study to working on cutting-edge dairy research trials shows what happens when hard work meets opportunity - and she's only just getting started.
The New Zealand Fish & Game Council has announced a leadership change in an effort to provide strategic direction for the sector and support the implementation of proposed legislative changes.
AgFirst, New Zealand's largest independent agribusiness consultancy, is turning 30 - celebrating three decades of "trusted advice, practical solutions, and innovative thinking".