Ballance Farm Environment Awards Launch on West Coast
The Ballance Farm Environment Awards are coming to the West Coast of the South Island.
OPINION: This old mutt was interested to read a recent New York Times expose of the European Union’s agriculture subsidy programme.
The New York Times investigation of nine countries during much of 2019 uncovered a subsidy system that is deliberately opaque, grossly undermines the EU’s environmental goals and is warped by corruption and self-dealing.
Every year, the 28-country EU pays out $65 billion in farm subsidies intended to support farmers around Europe and keep rural communities alive. But across Hungary and much of central and eastern Europe the bulk of the cash goes to a connected and powerful few.
For example, the prime minister of the Czech Republic collected tens of millions of dollars in subsidies just last year.
And we think NZ will get a free trade deal with the EU. Ha ha!
Farms across the upper North Island are trialling different pasture mixes as part of a research programme that aims to build greater resilience into farming systems.
Election years are always a concerning time for farmers, according to DairyNZ chair Tracy Brown.
The Ballance Farm Environment Awards are coming to the West Coast of the South Island.
Most dairy regions around the country have had a pretty good season so far says Tracy Brown.
Rural leader Mark Hooper has been appointed as an independent director to the NZPork board, bringing extensive farming, governance and advocacy experience to the role.

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