Taupiri Farmer Chris Woolerton Tipped as New Federated Farmers Waikato President
Taupiri farmer Chris Woolerton is tipped to take over as Federated Farmers Waikato president from next week.
Not content with slapping extra costs on the country’s farmers in the form of an ETS tax, impossible targets to cut methane and impending charges to improve water quality, the Government now wants more.
These politcians want to bang an extra tax on the humble farm ute so they can subsidise the cost that wealthy, smug, urban flexitarians incur for their new electric cars.
Your old mate reckons Fed Farmers’ Andrew Hoggard summed it up nicely: “Taxes don’t cut it and farmers need practical solutions to live in a zero-carbon world.”
Hoggard also perfectly summarised the total impracticality of the Government’s EV policy in saying: “An EV may be ok to go to town for the groceries, but a Nissan Leaf isn’t ideally suited to towing a silage wagon or to cart a load of fenceposts around the farm.”
Ashleigh Gordon and Leilani Lobb have been named as the two finalists for Dairy Women's Network's (DWN) 2026 Regional Leader of the Year Award.
Animal and Plant Health New Zealand (APHANZ) says the approval of a new fungicide seed treatment is a positive, however growers will be hoping the final approval is completed ahead of the spring season.
North Canterbury farmer Adam Williamson has been appointed DairyNZ's associate director for 2026-27.
Fonterra farmers are set for a multi-billion-dollar payout this week.
The 2026 Holstein Friesian NZ Young Breeders Development Programme is off to a strong start, with this year's intake coming together for their first event on March 18 and 19.
State farmer Pāmu (Landcorp) has announced it will pay a $10 million special dividend to the Crown off the back of a strong outlook for the business and a capital repayment of $9.5 million following Fonterra's consumer business sale.

OPINION: If you ask this old mutt, the choice at the next election isn't shaping up as a contest of…
OPINION: A mate of yours says we're long overdue for a reckoning on what value farmers really get for the…