Southland Farmers Given 18-Month Freshwater Farm Plan Reprieve
Southland farmers staring down a May deadline to submit freshwater farm plans under current regional plan rules have been given an 18-month reprieve by the Government.
A new website has pop-up called waterqualitynz, which purports to provide “independent honesty in freshwater environmental reporting in NZ”.
However, when your old mate went to look at who is behind the website his heart sank as it turns out to be the baby of Massey University’s ardent dairy industry critics Mike Joy and Kyleisha Foote. But if the Hound thought Joy and Foote were anti-dairying his eyes almost popped out of his head when he read the long list of collaborators and supporters of the site, included Anne Salmond, Brian Turner, Cath Wallace, Emily Bailey, Hamish Carnachan, Nandor Tanczos, Nicky Hager, Peter Fraser, Sam Mahon and Simon Terry, to name but a few. Google any name on this list and see just how ‘independent’ they are in their criticism of dairying.
Forestry Minister Todd McClay has today congratulated the winners of the 2026 Growing Native Forests Champions Awards at Fieldays.
The Government has announced $60,000 to provide one-off grants of $1,000 to each of the 60 New Zealand Young Farmers (NZYF) clubs across the country.
New Zealand’s rural sector has once again demonstrated its generosity, with the second Rural Industry Leaders Dinner, Debate and Auction raising an impressive $400,000 for the Rural Support Trust.
There has been another twist to the Federated Farmers annual election fiasco.
Analysis of decades of research has revealed the implementation of good farming practices plays a critical role in reducing nutrient losses to improve freshwater outcomes.
Yesterday the Government used the opening of Fieldays to announce a major investment, as part of its Land Use Flexibility package, to support a more productive and sustainable future across six sectors including dairy.

OPINION: While we're on the topic of lumberjacks, Biosecurity Minister Andrew Hoggard has no doubt used a chainsaw hundreds of…
OPINION: To a chorus of crying greenies, and not a minute too soon, the Government has moved to put the…