Bias Blowback
OPINION: It's no surprise to this old mutt that some politicians are done playing nice with the low rent media pack that hounds them looking for a 'gotcha' moment.
OPINION: The Hound reckons the powers at Landcorp (or as they/them like to call themselves, Pāmu) are coming under the microscope with the new government in place.
The first signs have already come from State Owned Enterprises Minister Paul Goldsmith who has said that he is “not happy” with its performance.
Goldsmith’s comments follow the state farmer’s measly half year result in 2023 of $3 million – down from $15 million for the 2022 half year. The minister says he expects SOEs to operate as efficiently and profitably as similar businesses not owned by the Crown.
“I am not yet satisfied that Pāmu is achieving this and I expect it to take steps to improve.”
Goldsmith could start by clearing out all the woke political appointments made to Landcorp’s board by the previous administration and put in place some hard-nosed business types who demand results and not feelgood claptrap from the SOE!
The proposed retrenchment of Heinz Wattied's manufacturing presenced in New Zealand will be a blow to the wallets of more than 200 Canterbury vegetable growers.
The cost of running a New Zealand farm is now 27% higher than it was before Covid, putting sustained pressure on profitability acrfoss the sector, according to new ANZ research.
Rural contractors are getting guidance on how to deal with recent rising fuel prices.
An Ōpunake farmer with a poor effluent system has been fined $35,000 with a discount on the penalty discarded after he charged at a Taranaki Regional Council officer inspecting the ‘systematic problems’ on his farm.
The horticulture sector is under threat because of vulnerabilities of the country's transport infrastructure, according to a report commissioned by a collective representing a range of groups in the sector.
Silver Fern Farms chief executive Dan Boulton says the meat processor wants to find ways of getting product destined for Middle East markets into those markets as opposed to try and place them elsewhere.

OPINION: President Trump's tariff wars have torpedoed the US grain belt's biggest market, China, sending many US family farms to…
OPINION: It's no surprise to this old mutt that some politicians are done playing nice with the low rent media…