End of war on farming, say farmers
Federated Farmers says changes announced to the Resource Management Act today mark the end of the war on farming.
OPINION: The Hound understands that there is a fair bit of consternation and nerves among the big farming lobby groups - namely Feds, Beef+Lamb and DairyNZ - that they are 'losing the room' in terms of farmer support.
These groups have copped a lot of flak from their levypayers for being 'too cosy' with the Government and not pushing back hard enough on policies like greenhouse gas, water and other proposed reforms.
This is particularly worrisome for Beef+Lamb, which is facing a levy vote later this year.
Things have got so bad that Groundswell NZ recently came out and denied it was not trying to undermine the farming levy collecting industry bodies.
Groundswell spokesman Bryce McKenzie warned farmers that, "if levy votes are lost, it could be quite damaging to farming."
However, he did go on to emphasise that the farming sector needed "one, strong, united voice".
The country’s 4200 commercial fruit and vegetable growers will vote from May 14 on a new HortNZ levy.
Meat processor Alliance Group is asking farmer shareholders to inject more capital in order to remain a 100% co-operative.
A vet is calling for all animals to be vaccinated against a new strain of leptospirosis (lepto) discovered on New Zealand dairy farms in recent years.
Dairy
Rural banker Rabobank is partnering with Food Rescue Kitchen on a new TV series which airs this weekend that aims to shine a light on the real and growing issues of food waste, food poverty and social isolation in New Zealand.
Telco infrastructure provider Chorus says that it believes all Kiwis – particularly those in the rural areas – need access to high-speed, reliable broadband.