Bailey's skill to speak 'plain language'
Tributes flew last week at the official farewell in Wellington for the retiring chair of Dairy Companies Association of New Zealand, Malcolm Bailey.
OPINION: The farming region of Manawatū, Rangitikei and Horowhenua - with Palmerston North as the key city - is a significant part of the primary industries in New Zealand.
We have a large chunks of NZ's elite soils. We have the full range of farming and horticultural operations: Asparagus to zucchinis and most things in between. Our strong hill country is home to a variety of livestock, as well as mānuka honey and carbon farming.
The central geographic location of Palmerston North means it is a natural freight and logistics hub for a wide range of industries and this supports the food production and distribution of our region. We are also a hub for livestock trading with the largest sale yards in New Zealand located in Feilding.
We have a world class agri-food/ agritech/ agribusiness hub built around Massey University.
This encompasses the major Crown Research Institutes, Riddet Institutes, Fonterra Research and FoodHQ. We also have a cluster of venture capital activity encompassing The Factory, Sprout and Finistere Ventures.
On the back of this research and development capability, we have a number of agritech companies such as Biolumic, Levno and Greentech Robotics, as well as a strong group of more traditional manufacturing businesses.
The highly qualified people we have working in this leading cluster help push us to top ranking in New Zealand for PhDs relative to the general population. We also have a strong arts community and in our midst many of New Zealand's leading artists.
We embrace science here and recognise that the gene technologies that developed Covid vaccines are also able to solve a lot of challenges we face in primary production - such as reducing climate gas emissions, improving animal health and improving water quality.
This region has outperformed the rest of New Zealand during the tough economic times caused by Covid. A key reason for this is the strength of our primary sector economy. A small but growing part of the rural economy here is tourism.
Most urban people are now quite disconnected from farming and food production, but many want to enjoy farm experiences as well as visit attractions like the Feilding sale yards. Many of these people are also attracted to the region's outdoor activities, such as trail riding and tramping.
While opportunities such as the CD Field Days to showcase the region have been curtailed by Covid, the ongoing strength and development of this region's primary sector economy is something to be proud of.
Malcolm Bailey is a Manawatu farmer and company director.
NZPork has appointed Auckland-based Paul Bucknell as its new chair.
The Government claims to have delivered on its election promise to protect productive farmland from emissions trading scheme (ETS) but red meat farmers aren’t happy.
Foot and Mouth Disease outbreaks could have a detrimental impact on any country's rural sector, as seen in the United Kingdom's 2000 outbreak that saw the compulsory slaughter of over six million animals.
The Ministry for the Environment is joining as a national award sponsor in the Ballance Farm Environment Awards (BFEA from next year).
Kiwis are wasting less of their food than they were two years ago, and this has been enough to push New Zealand’s total household food waste bill lower, the 2025 Rabobank KiwiHarvest Food Waste survey has found.
OPINION: Sir Lockwood Smith has clearly and succinctly defined what academic freedom is all about, the boundaries around it and the responsibility that goes with this privilege.
OPINION: For years, the ironically named Dr Mike Joy has used his position at Victoria University to wage an activist-style…
OPINION: A mate of yours truly has had an absolute gutsful of the activist group SAFE.