OPINION: Your old mate reckons the atrocious way farmers in the UK are treated by their lords and masters in Westminster is a salient warning for us.

OPINION: Since when did one and one make three? Who didn't smell an elephant-sized rat when our leaders decided to give $60 million to save the cement factory in Northland?

OPINION: A simpler, clearer, more effective Recognised Seasonal Employer (RSE) scheme.

OPINION: Proponents of regenerative agriculture tend to be naturally aligned with a 'green mindset', so they will be nonplussed with their new mates in the US of A.

OPINION: Mike Chapman, former chief executive of levy-funded HortNZ, has thrown out a challenge to farmers and growers to put their levy-funded industry organisations under the same scrutiny as fertiliser, electricity, labour and freight.

OPINION: It's a tough pill to swallow that bird flu (avian influenza) has finally arrived in New Zealand. This is a moment many of us have hoped would never come.

OPINION: At Fieldays this year, one theme kept surfacing across the sector: global shocks are no longer something that happens “over there”. They are now translating quickly into local, farm-level impacts through increasingly complex and connected channels.

OPINION: Yep, the stories just keep on coming. I haven’t noted any sign of them drying up yet, no let-up seems to be in sight! And with the rapid advances in AI, maybe the worst is still to come.

A fair question has been raised about how member-funded organisations should conduct themselves when taking a public position on any given issue.

OPINION: Alistair Carmichael raises some interesting questions about striking a balance between profitability in farming and preserving the character of rural communities.