Government Declares Medium-Scale Adverse Weather Event in Bay of Plenty, Gisborne/Tairāwhiti, and Canterbury
Recent weather events in the Bay of Plenty, Gisborne/Tairawhiti, and Canterbury have been declared a medium-scale adverse event.
OPINION: The Hound is perplexed about some of the over-the-top climate catastrophising by mainstream media outlets during the holidays.
They ran countless breathless stories about parts of the country hitting temperatures of – wait for it – 30 degrees on some days.
Well, it is summer and temperatures of 30-plus degrees are not a recent phenomenon, it has been happening at this time of year in NZ for more than 150 years!
Then your old mate read a fanciful opinion piece – on a supposedly respected news website – claiming that these kind of temperatures will mean the end of livestock farming in this country as we know it.
The credibility of said ‘opinonist’ and website was put into perspective when she claimed that NZ currently had a population of “40 million sheep”.
The fact is NZ’s not had 40 million sheep for a number of years with the current flock only around 25 million strong.
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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