Displaying items by tag: Damien O'Connor

The bee and honey industry group ApiCulture NZ is proposing a commodity levy to support producers, but the idea is controversial: many beekeepers strongly oppose it.

A rushed change to NAIT regulations has caused growing disquiet about the haste in which the new laws were passed under urgency in Parliament.

MPI is setting out to connect with ‘unconnected’ farmers to make them aware of all the new animal welfare and environmental compliance regulations.

Recent changes to the NAIT regulations have generally been welcomed by the farming industry: DairyNZ and Beef + Lamb NZ are in favour, although Federated Farmers sees them as rushed.

The discovery of Mycoplasma bovis on a sheep and beef property near Motueka was entirely predictable, said Agriculture Minister Damien O’Connor.

The ‘wild west’ of the primary sector is what the Minister of Agriculture Damien O'Connor calls the bee industry. 

Agriculture Minister Damien O’Connor told the NZ Institute of Primary Industry Management conference that more R&D spending is needed in the whole economy and that not all agricultural investment will be behind the farmgate. 

On the increasing costs of farming in New Zealand, Agriculture Minister Damien O’Connor says “get used to it”.

New Fonterra chairman John Monaghan says regulation forcing the co-op to pick milk from farmers is past its use-by date.

Agriculture minister Damien O’Connor says horticulture offers a pathway to a better future for thousands of Kiwis.