Nationwide rallies to be held to protest live export
As the new government considers lifting the ban on live exports, protestors are set to demonstrate against the policy.
A debt mediation scheme to help farmers in financial distress deal with their lenders starts today.
The Farm Debt Mediation Scheme will require creditors to offer mediation to farmers who default on payments before they take any enforcement action, says Agriculture Minister Damien O’Connor.
“Total farm debt in NZ is $62.8 billion – up 270% on 20 years ago. Farmers are especially vulnerable to business down-turns as a result of conditions that are often outside their control, like weather, market price volatility and diseases like Mycoplasma bovis and Covid-19,’’ says O’Connor.
“Farmers who operate a family business often don’t have the resources to negotiate their own protections when dealing with lenders. That’s where this scheme fits in – it supports the mental, emotional and financial wellbeing of farmers and farming families who find themselves in financial trouble.
“The scheme is about early intervention – where either the farmer or the bank have an ability to go and seek mediation, which is a far better option than forced foreclosure,” says O’Connor.
Two Approved Mediation Organisations, The Arbitrators and Mediators Institute of New Zealand (AMINZ) and Resolution Institute (RI) have been appointed to deliver the scheme.
Farmers wishing to access the scheme should visit the MPI website.
Federated Farmers claims that the Otago Regional Council is charging ahead unnecessarily with piling more regulation on rural communities.
Dairy sheep and goat farmers are being told to reduce milk supply as processors face a slump in global demand for their products.
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Listed Canterbury milk processor Synlait’s shares have been placed in a trading halt.
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A step-by-step guide helping farmers through the process of creating a Freshwater Farm Plan (FWFP) has been launched by FarmIQ.
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