Waikato farmers tackle debt as interest rates fall, says Zonderop
Waikato Federated Farmers dairy chair Matthew Zonderop says two consecutive years of a $10 milk price is fantastic for New Zealand agriculture.
Waikato police are hoping the sight of a ‘POLICE’ branded tractor at regional field days will encourage farmers to get involved in rural crime prevention.
Inspector Paul Carpenter says the police are “always keen to introduce new and novel initiatives to highlight rural crime. Waikato has fronted these endeavours with mounted patrols at key public events and red-and-orange hi-visibility patrol cars on state highways.”
The latest is talks with CB Norwood Distributors leading to the company lending a New Holland tractor for the season, in police livery and with flashing lights and sirens.
Carpenter says “initial response [by locals] has been a quick double-take, then they reach for the camera… just what the concept is all about – promoting discussion of rural road deaths, drugs activity on farms, personal safety, stock thefts and illegal hunting.”
The tractor has appeared at Central Districts Field Days and the South Island Agricultural Field Days and will be at National Fieldays.
“Rural areas present unique challenges for police,” Carpenter says. “There are longer distances, lack of cellphone and radio networks, and smaller numbers of staff [needing] to do more in-depth engagement with smaller communities.
“And tactics that may work in large urban centres may not work too well in a rural setting.
“The key thing is, police need to know about incidents and rural residents need to feel comfortable reporting issues to us. We need to move away from the mindset of, ‘oh the police are too busy, I won’t trouble them’.”
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Labour's agriculture spokesperson Jo Luxton says while New Zealand needs more housing, sacrificing our best farmland to get there is not the answer.
Profitability issues facing arable farmers are the same across the world, says New Zealand's special agricultural trade envoy Hamish Marr.
Over 85% of Fonterra farmer suppliers will be eligible for customer funding up to $1,500 for solutions designed to drive on-farm efficiency gains and reduce emissions intensity.
Tighter beef and lamb production globally have worked to the advantage of NZ, according to the Meat Industry Association (MIA).
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