Nothing beats a good A&P show, and in recent years the Cheviot Show has gone from good to outstanding. This is mostly thanks to the enthusiasm of six locals who took on running and revitalising the show as a team in 2019. Mike and Elspeth Loughnan lead the group as co-presidents last year, Kate and […]
Local
Wairoa rates review misses the mark
By Rhea Dasent, senior policy advisor for Federated Farmers Federated Farmers has a long history of submitting on Wairoa rates, so our ears pricked up when we saw the current Wairoa Rates Review. We were especially interested to read in the Council’s own words “This proposal would simplify the rating system and transfer rates from […]
Reviewing the year we’d all rather forget
Kim Reilly, Federated Farmers South Island Regional Policy Manager Queen Elizabeth II once described 1992 as an “annus horribilis” – a horrible year. Moving forward 28 years, I’m not even sure there is a sufficient (publishable) term to sum up 2020. Let’s just say, it was a bloody shocker. Covid19 created the perfect storm for […]
Hold on to your wallet – bumpy council rates ride ahead
By Nigel Billings, Federated Farmers Senior Policy Advisory With local authorities due to roll out their Long-Term financial Plans in early 2021, a hard road beckons for rural ratepayers. This isn’t just a Covid-19 thing. Some councils, particularly in tourism centres, took big hits on their revenue in 2020 but new demands on council coffers […]
Partnership the key to success for Canterbury sustainable irrigation award winners
Canterbury farming couple Ted and Sue Rollinson are the New Zealand region winners of the inaugural Zimmatic™ Sustainable Irrigation Awards. The Rollinsons own a 380-hectare dairy farm in mid-Canterbury. Sharemilkers Tom and Leanne Heneghan have been on farm for 11 years and milk 1,500 cows on the property. The awards aim to celebrate excellence in […]
Bleak picture ahead on rising rates demands
Federated Farmers has produced the 13th edition of our annual rates report newsletter. In it we provide detail on our local policy work on rates and local government funding along with coverage of the major developments impacting council funding and financing this year and, in the years to come. In the unprecedented times of early […]
Wairarapa MP sneaks in Golden Shears invite
Question time in Parliament yesterday, when in amongst warm fuzzies about the government working with Feds and the Shearing Contractors Association to bring more shearers into the country, is a smart move by Wairarapa MP Kieran McAnulty to get Immigration Minister Kris Faafoi to confirm he will go to the Golden Shears next year. Watch […]
Southland’s freshwater picture brought together in one report
Thriving Southland today released a literature review, The Southland Science Report, detailing the water situation in Southland. The Southland Science Report, written by Landpro Ltd, compiles all the science and data that has been publicly released about Southland’s land, soil and water into one report. Thriving Southland Chair and farmer, Ewen Mathieson, says “it’s the […]
Survey shows farm plans are driving change
A new survey of farmers in Aparima, Southland, shows farms achieve better environmental results when they have Farm Environment Plans. Six hundred dairy, sheep and beef farmers work together in the Aparima Community Environment Project, which aims to improve the health of freshwater and reduce environmental footprint. A recent survey of 151 Aparima farmers showed […]
Working better together – Fish & Game and Federated Farmers
A ‘goodwill meeting’ held between the boards of Federated Farmers and Fish & Game has signaled an attempt to calm the troubled waters between the two organisations. However, the initiative has raised some eyebrows among freshwater campaigners. Six members of the NZ Fish & Game Council met with their counterparts from Federated Farmers at the […]