Picking winners?
OPINION: Every time politicians come up with an investment scheme where they're going to have a crack at 'picking winners' with our money, the Hound cringes.
Labour is now also putting the putting the boot into the NZ dairy sector. Its trade spokesman David Parker has accused Trade Minister Tim Groser of insulting Canadian diplomats by comparing that country’s dairy industry to the Soviet Union.
But given that the Canadians limit the amount of domestic dairy production, impose huge tariffs on imports and cause a single dairy cow quota to be valued at about $30,000 you can’t blame Groser for his Soviet comparison. Parker, said Groser’s comments had the Canadian Embassy in Washington “bristling at the minister’s counter-productive, undiplomatic sledging.” So is Labour now supportive of the Canadian Government’s dairy policy which locks out competing countries like NZ?
Last month's Agritechnica event led to a wide group of manufacturers celebrating successes when the 2026 Tractor of the Year Competition winners, selected by a panel of European journalists, were announced in Hanover Germany.
According to the latest Federated Farmers banking survey, farmers are more satisfied with their bank and less under pressure, however, the sector is well short of confidence levels seen last decade.
Farmer confidence has taken a slight dip according to the final Rabobank rural confidence survey for the year.
Former Agriculture Minister and Otaki farmer Nathan Guy has been appointed New Zealand’s Special Agricultural Trade Envoy (SATE).
Alliance Group has commissioned a new heat pump system at its Mataura processing plant in Southland.
Fonterra has slashed another 50c off its milk price forecast as global milk flows shows no sign of easing.

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