The two women at the helm on the Federated Farmers North Canterbury executive are keen to show others there’s nothing stopping women taking the lead on the challenges facing agriculture. Caroline Amyes (President) and Bex Green (senior Vice-President and Vice-Dairy chairperson) were elected by fellow farmers at the province’s AGM in May and both are […]
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Let’s get smarter about Facebook reactions
By Southland Vice-President Bernadette Hunt I’ve been thinking about the social media chat following the Groundswell protest, and it has become really apparent to me that we’re really not clever about the way we use social media. The one sign that upset so many people seemed to be everywhere on Facebook, and we only have […]
Listen up, or farmers are going to start digging their toes in
The next instalment of our series introducing the new Federated Farmers Provincial Presidents – Chris Dillon, Southland What’s your farming background? I finished Lincoln University in the late ‘90s, travelled and worked in a few different places and ended up back on the home farm near Gore around 2000. We started an agricultural contracting business […]
Cobber Challenge: It’s Aussie kelpies vs Kiwi heading dogs
Australia’s Cobber Challenge is for the first time expanding to include New Zealand farmers and their dogs. The annual challenge has been going since 2016 and involves working farm dogs being fitted with a GPS collar that tracks their distance travelled, work hours done and speed over a three-week period. Points are accorded, the dogs […]
Sustainability vision – it’s not just about protecting the environment
The word ‘sustainability’ seems to crop up in just about every second article on agriculture, usually referencing the environment. But as Federated Farmers Vice-President Karen Williams said at the Waikato Federated Farmer’s AGM, true sustainability must also encompass social and economic wellbeing. Karen enthusiastically described a future Ag-sector where happy farmers get out of bed […]
Wedging open the door to additional wool sales
A group of Year 13 agribusiness students at a Dunedin College are working hard to put a bit of bounce back in wool demand, ‘one baale at a time’. Kavanagh College student company Under the Door Enterprises, competing in the national Young Enterprise Scheme, has devised a door wedge made of wool carpet off-cuts and […]
Minimum sick leave entitlements are increasing to 10 days
The minimum sick leave entitlement is increasing from 5 to 10 days per year from 24 July 2021. Employees will get the extra five days at their next entitlement date. Employers and employees, it is important you are prepared for the change so you don’t get caught out. Here are six key things you need […]
Government hearing farmers on dairy immigration concerns
Federated Farmers is pleased that the Government has recognised the need to extend the Essential Skills visa for the valuable migrant staff working in our dairy sector. The Government is increasing the duration of 12-month Essential Skills visas and streamlining the application process to make things easier for both employers and visa holders while the […]
Farmax adds extra benefit to Ballance Farm Environment Awards
Farmax is excited to announce they are now a sponsor of the Ballance Farm Environment Awards. The Ballance Farm Environment Awards are run by the New Zealand Farm Environment Trust to recognise innovative and passionate Kiwi farmers who have embedded sustainability into the foundation of their farm businesses. “Farmax is thrilled to be supporting the […]
Farmer frustration is boiling over
Federated Farmers President Andrew Hoggard says he’s not surprised frustration and anger about the deluge of new regulations and costs from central government is spilling over into protest meetings. On Friday farmers in a number of districts around New Zealand are rounding up dog teams and firing up utes and tractors to head into their […]