End of war on farming, say farmers
Federated Farmers says changes announced to the Resource Management Act today mark the end of the war on farming.
If the $840 million sale of TelstraClear to Vodafone gets regulatory approval, it could strengthen the financial case for an enhanced rural broadband offer by Vodafone.
"To be honest few farmers will be directly impacted by the proposed sale of TelstraClear to Vodafone," says Anders Crofoot, Federated Farmers Telecommunications spokesperson.
"The upsides we see at Federated Farmers are TelstraClear's strong fibre network, its radio spectrum and of course, content. With TelstraClear being a Sky reseller, Vodafone gets the opportunity to integrate this content with its future offer; to rural customers especially.
"With potentially 29% of the broadband market in a combination of wired and wireless, Vodafone is poised to become a major force.
"TelstraClear's strong cable network and the spectrum it has are major drivers towards a true 4G mobile network. Something we are incredibly keen on to get ultra fast broadband from the farm and across a wide geographic spread.
"Certainly, Vodafone chief executive, Russell Stanners, was impressively upbeat at Federated Farmers recent national conference on where they want to go.
"You feel this is the first act in a larger drama involving Telecom and Vodafone. Hopefully rural customers will get to enjoy it," Crofoot says.
The country’s 4200 commercial fruit and vegetable growers will vote from May 14 on a new HortNZ levy.
Meat processor Alliance Group is asking farmer shareholders to inject more capital in order to remain a 100% co-operative.
A vet is calling for all animals to be vaccinated against a new strain of leptospirosis (lepto) discovered on New Zealand dairy farms in recent years.
Dairy
Rural banker Rabobank is partnering with Food Rescue Kitchen on a new TV series which airs this weekend that aims to shine a light on the real and growing issues of food waste, food poverty and social isolation in New Zealand.
Telco infrastructure provider Chorus says that it believes all Kiwis – particularly those in the rural areas – need access to high-speed, reliable broadband.
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