National river quality trends give cause for optimism, according to Land and Water Aotearoa (LAWA).
At times it is hard not to believe the meme that ‘Minister of Everything’ David Parker really does hate farmers and farming.
Some assertions made in the Rural News editorial, ‘Get with the programme’ on April 3, 2018 were unfair, wildly untrue and demand a response.
The Hound notes that former ag minister Nathan Guy is settling into the role of opposition MP and having a crack at current minister Damien O’Connor any chance he gets.
It takes a bit to make your canine crusader raise his eyebrows at the hypocrisy of these do-gooder outfits with barrows to push.
Your old mate notes that US President Donald Trump’s plans to grant exemptions to Canada, the EU, Mexico, Argentina, Brazil and Australia from his upcoming trade tariffs on steel and aluminium but leave New Zealand off the list.
Last month we saw Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern swanning around Europe having cosy chats with the three big M’s -- Macron, May and Merkel, as well as British Royalty.
OPINION: Parliament's show of support for tougher deterrents against livestock theft is welcome news.
Let's hope there’s truth in the talk of a funding reprieve for the rural health body Rural Health Alliance Aotearoa NZ (RHAANZ).
The Hound reckons that with the duck shooting season getting underway this week, farmers (especially those irrigating) whose duck ponds are publicly accessible should seriously question would-be hunters wanting access.
Your canine crusader sees that the self-proclaimed font of all knowledge on NZ’s water quality Dr Mike Joy refuses to accept the latest figures released by LAWA on river water quality trends (2007 - 2016).
The Hound notes that the Labour Party and its coalition ‘provincial champion’ mates NZ First said they were surprised at the reaction from the oil and gas industry at the Government’s sudden clampdown on all future offshore exploration in NZ.
This old mutt hears that China is embarking on its biggest rainmaking project: they want to force rainfall and snow over 1.6 million sq. km – an area roughly three times the size of Spain.
New Zealand agriculture is facing interesting times and we need to be ambitious if we’re to win. The model that has enabled us to succeed for 100 years cannot ensure our success in the future.
Your old mate is so excited (not!) to hear yet another committee has been formed to go with the 40 already set up by the government since it came to power last October – Damian O’Connor’s much vaunted Primary Industry Council.
A mate of yours truly says he was flabbergasted by the incoherent response of the body overseeing NAIT, following the recent review of the animal tracing system and the blistering criticism of it by Agriculture Minister Damien O’Connor.
The Hound couldn’t help but notice the outlandish public crowing and back-slapping by eco-terrorism – sorry, environmental – groups Greenpeace and Forest and Bird over the coalition government’s recent decision to can all future funding of irrigation schemes.
Your old mate notes that Young Farmers has made great fanfare of a recent board appointment: Hawke’s Bay farmer and agribusiness leader Sam Robinson is joining the organisation as a director.
Water storage and irrigation are key for sustainable growth, explains Mike Chapman, chief executive of Horticulture NZ.
Another Autumn season is fading away with all the challenges of maintaining good staff mostly behind us. Yet Rural Contractors NZ is again having to prove its case for importing some of the people we need to drive our machinery in the coming spring.
Greenpeace has suggested that meat and dairy product consumption should be reduced to 16kg and 33 kg per person per year, respectively.
Your old mate’s piece on the perceived penny-pinching by rural services company PGG Wrightson (PGW) in not issuing pencils with its annual notebook has drawn correspondence from aggrieved farmers bemoaning the fact.
Your canine crusader has been doing a bit of surfing on the Twitter machine of late and has noticed quite a bit of action by his good mate John McCarthy, the former front-man of the failed, futile, flopped Meat Industry Excellence (MIE) group.
» Latest Print Issues Online
The Hound
Silence is golden
The Hound notes that former ag minister Nathan Guy is settling into the role of opposition MP and having a…
Easy answer
It takes a bit to make your canine crusader raise his eyebrows at the hypocrisy of these do-gooder outfits with…