Election 2026: Rural Lobby Groups Challenge Parties on Agriculture Policy
Three farmer lobby groups are applying the blowtorch to political parties on key issues facing the primary sector ahead of the general elections.
OPINION: A mate of the Hound's recently pointed him to a podcast called The Detail, and a recent episode covering the emergence of rural ginger group Groundswell.
The supposedly independent taxpayer-funded podcast, interviewed a Wellington-based journalist all about Groundswell.
Said journalist pontificated on putting the boot into Groundswell - claiming the lobby only represented an "angry vocal minority that doesn't reflect what most farmers are thinking" and "the way they've carried on just does the sector an enormous disservice".
The podcast producers made a brief disclosure saying this journalist's husband "worked in the primary sector".
However, this 'disclosure' was not very 'full'.
In fact, said journalist's husband is in fact the highly-paid spin doctor for many of the established primary sector lobbies in Wellington, most of which has criticised and who are currently in a public dogfight with the rural lobby.
A verbal stoush has broken out between Federated Farmers and a new group that claims to be fighting against cheaper imports that undermine NZ farmers.
According to the latest ANZ Agri Focus report, energy-intensive and domestically-focused sectors currently bear the brunt of rising fuel, fertiliser and freight costs.
Having gone through a troublesome “divorce” from its association and part ownership of AGCO, Indian manufacturer TAFE is said to be determined to be seen as a modern business rather than just another tractor maker from the developing world.
Two long-standing New Zealand agricultural businesses are coming together to strengthen innovation, local manufacturing capability, and access to essential farm inputs for farmers across the country.
A new farmer-led programme aimed at bringing young people into dairy farming is under way in Waikato and Bay of Plenty.
The Government has announced changes to stock exclusion regulations which it claims will cut unnecessary costs and inflexible rules while maintaining environmental protections.

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