Gene Bill rumours
OPINION: The Gene Technology Bill has divided the farming community with strong arguments on both the pros and cons of GM.
OPINION: It divides opinion, but the House has passed the first reading of the Gene Technology Bill.
No working groups, just getting on with it, finally.
Judith Collins says our current regulations for genetically modified organisms are some of the "most backward looking in the world".
Countries, such as Australia, Canada, and England have safely used thses technologies for the benefit of their economies.
Gene technologies having been in use in New Zealand since the 1970s, the restrictive rules and time-consuming processes we have imposed on researchers have made testing and innovating outside the lab all but impossible.
Collins says she's listened to our research, primary industry, and medical communities and the frustrations they have felt over many years.
GE critics remain, but supporters will see this as a win for science over hysteria.
Bank of New Zealand (BNZ) says it is backing aspiring dairy farmers through a new initiative designed to make the first step to farm ownership or sharemilking easier.
OPINION: While farmers are busy and diligently doing their best to deal with unwanted gasses, the opponents of farming - namely the Greens and their mates - are busy polluting the atmosphere with tirades of hot air about what farmers supposedly aren't doing.
OPINION: For close to eight years now, I have found myself talking about methane quite a lot.
The Royal A&P Show of New Zealand, hosted by the Canterbury A&P Association, is back next month, bigger and better after the uncertainty of last year.
Claims that farmers are polluters of waterways and aquifers and 'don't care' still ring out from environmental groups and individuals. The phrase 'dirty dairying' continues to surface from time to time. But as reporter Peter Burke points out, quite the opposite is the case. He says, quietly and behind the scenes, farmers are embracing new ideas and technologies to make their farms sustainable, resilient, environmentally friendly and profitable.
Relationships are key to opening new trading opportunities and dealing with some of the rules that countries impose that impede the free flow of trade.