Election Year Curse?
OPINION: The coalition Government seems to have chickened out when it comes to live animal exports by sea.
Federated Farmers national board member Chris Lewis will leave at the organisation's annual meeting in Auckland this July.
Chris Lewis, a Feds national board member and spokesman on immigration and labour issues for the past two years, will leave at its annual meeting in Auckland early July.
He is one of two high profile Feds leaders to call it quits. Another board member and spokesman on water and biodiversity, Chris Allen, is also stepping down.
Lewis says stepping down a year before his three-year term ends should also help the incoming board members.
"Both Chris Allen and I thought the right thing is to stand down this year and let two new people in this year," he says.
Federated Farmers will hold its board elections next year when president Andrew Hoggard will step down at the end of his three year term.
The closure of the McCain processing plant and the recent announcement of 300 job losses at Wattie’s underscore the mounting pressure facing New Zealand’s manufacturing sector, Buy NZ Made says.
Specialist agriculture lender Oxbury has entered the New Zealand market, offering livestock finance to farmers.
New research suggests Aotearoa New Zealand farmers are broadly matching phosphorus fertiliser use to the needs of their soils, helping maintain relatively stable nutrient levels across the country’s agricultural land.
Helensville farmers, Donald and Kirsten Watson of Moreland Pastoral, have been named the Auckland Regional Supreme Winners at the Ballance Farm Environment Awards.
Marc and Megan Lalich were named 2026 Share Farmers of the Year at last night's Canterbury/North Otago Dairy Industry Awards.
William John Poole, a third year Agribusiness student at Massey University, has been awarded the Dr Warren Parker and Pāmu Scholarship.

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