By Cherrie Chubb, Dairy Chair, Federated Farmers Golden Bay OPINION: It is no understatement to say that we live in challenging times. While we can be thankful to have avoided the worst of the impacts from the Delta lockdowns, we have not been spared from the weather. Floods, storms and the persistent number of wet […]
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Feds whistle up support for the whio
Federated Farmers is once again championing the whio (blue duck) to take the Bird of the Year title. New Zealanders sticking to their home bubble under COVID alert levels should feel some affinity for this plucky and endangered native duck because they also live rather isolated lives in the less modified catchments of the Urerewa, […]
Farmer’s high fashion event a celebration of the unexpected
‘Town meets country’ themed articles are usually about produce, animals and tractors featuring in urban parades, festivals or markets. But Eden Hore: High Fashion/High Country – like the Central Otago farmer himself – is one out of the box. Eden was a high country farmer from Naseby. Nationally admired for his sheep and beef farming […]
Alliance barges in with stock solution
By Rebecca Flannery Sheep and cattle from isolated parts of the Marlborough Sounds are getting a sea cruise as part of an innovative solution to road damage. Heavy rainfall in July took a massive toll on roads, with access to some parts of the Sounds cut off. There were more than 100 slips and unstable […]
Emma boots up to get others to Outward Bound
It’s challenging enough to tackle your first marathon. But to run it in gumboots and milking shed overalls?! Nineteen-year-old Emma Blom just takes all the raised eyebrows and ‘you’re crazy’ comments in her stride. “I wanted to do something a bit different,” she says, “and also to make a difference”. The ‘making a difference’ bit […]
Feds to work with Taumata Arowai as water supply exemption refused
With the Water Services Bill passing its third reading on September 28 without an exemption for small suppliers, Federated Farmers is now focusing on the Minister’s undertakings around making the processes simple, cost-effective and practical. “Federated Farmers is deeply disappointed that the strong case for a carve-out from the new regulations for those supplying water […]
Building a case for self-isolation on farm
By Simon Edwards What happens if a sole-charge farmer or farm/herd manager tests positive for COVID-19? That question became very real with the recent surge of the disease in Auckland and the subsequent spread of cases to the Waikato. An industry working group that includes Federated Farmers representation has been putting together a case for […]
There’s life in the old dog yet
Man’s best friend has been a trusted and long-time employee on the farm since humans woke up and realised how smart dogs are. But it doesn’t have to be the end of a happy life when they get too old, have had a career-ending injury or just won’t quite make the cut. This was the […]
Feds asks farmers to get vaccinated
Federated Farmers is calling on farmers and growers to remember the critical link between vaccination rates and maintaining growth in the New Zealand economy. Federated Farmers president Andrew Hoggard says Feds has taken a little bit of stick from a handful of members about the organsiation’s promotion of the need for as many people as possible to get vaccinated. “We got told to ‘stay in our lane’ and to stop […]
Sunsmart farming, is smart farming
Federated Farmers is throwing its support behind the Melanoma New Zealand campaign to save farmers’ lives from skin cancer. The annual campaign for this year ‘Get Spotted’ has just wrapped up, but the Melanoma New Zealand quest to see zero lives lost in New Zealand from melanoma goes on. Federated Farmers vice president and Wairarapa […]