by Nick Leggett, CEO, Road Transport Forum OPINION: Live animals trapped in a truck for six hours in Auckland’s summer heat is not acceptable in anyone’s view. Sadly, this is what happened in the most recent Covid-19 Level 3 lockdown when the road border crossing could only be described as a shemozzle. This highlighted a […]
Economic Week – March 26
by Nick Clark, Federated Farmers Manager General Policy Housing tax shakeup The big news for the week was the Government’s much anticipated housing package aimed at tilting the playing field in favour of first home buyers over speculators and investors. It came after a surge house prices surged (up 22.8% for the year to February […]
Linda and Evan Potter named National Ambassadors for Sustainable Farming and Growing
Federated Farmers members Evan and Linda Potter, of Central Hawke’s Bay hill country property, Waipapa, (sheep, beef and deer) are the new National Ambassadors for Sustainable Farming and Growing and the recipients of the Gordon Stephenson Trophy. The announcement was made on Thursday at the National Sustainability Showcase at Te Papa in Wellington, attended by all of […]
High five to the essential services workers everywhere
There’s so many people to thank on Essential Services Day. When Federated Farmers and many other agencies and organisations in the Team Ag/primary industries ‘family’ came up with the idea of saluting all those others who worked through last year’s Covid-19 lockdown, enabling us to continue producing top quality food and fibre, we soon realised […]
Feds proud to back NZ Dairy Story
Sip that fresh glass of New Zealand milk, cut a wedge of our cheese, and know the farmers behind it are world leaders in animal welfare and climate change. And unlike producers in many other nations, they do it without direct, free-trade distorting subsidies. Federated Farmers is proud to endorse the messages in The New […]
Whio winging their way to Arthur’s Pass
The release of 17 hand-reared whio (blue duck) into Arthur’s Pass National Park later this week is a significant first, and one of a number of whio releases planned across Aotearoa over the coming months, Conservation Minister Kiri Allan says. The whio – the rare whitewater river-loving native duck that Federated Farmers has championed in […]
The essential power of gratitude – Essential Day
Kim Tay of the NZ Institute of Wellbeing and Resilience explains why focusing on what’s good is vital for our resilience in the battle against Covid-19… This time a year ago, the whole of Aotearoa (and indeed the wider world) stepped up for the first big Covid lockdown. Together our nation united to face the […]
Humble dung beetle potential game changer for landowners
Marlborough landowners and the Council will be as happy as dung beetles in muck if an ambitious programme to improve the region’s waterways achieves its objectives. The humble little critters themselves could also prove to be a game changer for Marlborough landowners, assisting in the quicker conversion of manure back to pasture. Did you know […]
Farmers seek fairer route to meeting road costs
by Rhea Dasent, Federated Farmers Senior Policy Advisor Federated Farmers members have highlighted to us a discrepancy between the high rates they pay towards roading, and the low level of service they receive. There is wide concern that their distance from main centres means their roads are low priority for maintenance and repair, yet they […]
Strong will to lift wool returns
A Covid-era shift towards working from home, the rise of ‘Zoom’ towns in the USA and growing consciousness worldwide of the environmental credentials of products are all trends that the Strong Wool Action Group sees as potential opportunities. SWAG CEO Andy Caughey told the Federated Farmers Meat & Wool Council late last month that the group’s aim is to identify ways to be a disruptor in product categories in […]