Ashburton Farmer Matthew Paton Elected to Ruralco Board
Ashburton cropping and dairy farmer Matthew Paton has been elected to the board of rural services company, Ruralco.
OPINION: Your old mate's editor was contacted by Ashburton-based farmer co-op Ruralco in relation to this old mutt's recent column about the difficulty in signing up to the organisation.
It says its application is, “Not 67 pages long, but in fact 32 pages for a shareholder or 19 pages for a cardholder”.
The co-op points out that, when put into the context of joining a bank or other financial services organisation, “that is entirely within similar realms”.
It also adds the Ruralco’s boss Robert Sharkie would, “love to have the opportunity to speak with the farmer concerned and help alleviate their frustration”, and “this is how much he cares about helping farmers to do business”.
It’s good to see such a proactive attitude from the boss of a rural company. So, any farmers having any similar issues joining Ruralco – give good old Bob a bell.
Three New Zealand agritech companies are set to join forces to help unlock the full potential of technology.
As the sector heads into the traditional peak period for injuries and fatalities, farmers are being urged to "take a moment".
Federated Farmers says almost 2000 farmers have signed a petition launched this month to urge the Government to step in and provide certainty while the badly broken resource consent system is fixed.
Zespri’s counter-seasonal Zespri Global Supply (ZGS) programme is underway with approximately 33 million trays, or 118,800 tonnes, expected this year from orchards throughout France, Italy, Greece, Korea, and Japan.
Animal owners can help protect life-saving antibiotics from resistant bacteria by keeping their animals healthy, says the New Zealand Veterinary Association.
According to analysis by the Meat Industry Association (MIA), New Zealand red meat exports reached $827 million in October, a 27% increase on the same period last year.

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