A new President, vice-President and CEO have taken the helm at Rural Contractors NZ after an annual conference this week that highlighted compounding challenges in meeting capacity constraints which are likely to impact on some farmers and crop production. Waikato contractor Helen Slattery stepped up from vice-President to replace Southland’s David Kean who’d given 12 […]
Employment
Govt’s response on farm workforce crisis totally underwhelming
By Jason Herrick, Southland Federated Farmers Sharemilker Chair Farm staff shortages in Southland and around the country are getting worse. While the government finally bowed to dairy industry pleas and announced border exemptions for 150 management and 50 farm assistant positions, the sector was already under severe workforce gap pressure. The super-busy calving season begins […]
Beef + Lamb NZ launch employment hub
Beef + Lamb New Zealand has launched a new on-line ‘Employment Hub’, a one-stop ship for farm owners and managers to assist them as employers. “Farmers have told us that they are struggling to employ and retain staff with unclear entry points, limited employment experiences and little to no support during this process,” Jeremy Baker, […]
Retention and fun two ingredients as we battle staff shortages
By Chris Lewis, Federated Farmers national board member I’ve been talking to a lot of Feds members lately about why we need migrants on our farms. It’s no different to the conversations I’ve had with builders, tilers, machinery operators … and the list could go on longer than the length of this article. With continued […]
Andrew Olsen new CEO for Rural Contactors NZ
Andrew Olsen has been appointed as the new CEO of Rural Contractors NZ which represents 600 contractors in the $1.5b industry. RCNZ vice president Helen Slattery says the former Chief Executive of the Travel Agents Association NZ stood out to the selection panel in a very strong field of candidates. “Our industry is facing some […]
Critical worker shortages on dairy farms will take a toll
Federated Farmers is deeply disappointed the government’s exception announcement today shows it could not find a way to bring 500 desperately needed skilled dairy employees into the country. Feds believes the pressure some farming families are now under, due to a severe lack of people to work on farms, is already taking a toll on […]
Economic Week – May 7
by Nick Clark, Federated Farmers GM General Policy Dairy prices slip again…. The Global Dairy Trade auction edged down another 0.7% at this week’s auction, on the back of weaker prices for fats more than offsetting increases for powders. Whole milk powder (by far the biggest product traded by volume) was up 0.7%, skim milk […]
2021 Future Farmers intake grows to 60
by Sue Meade, HR Manager, Growing Future Farmers When most people win awards they sit back and enjoy a job well done . . . when Federated Farmers members Tam and Dan Jex-Blake won a training award in 2016, they realised there was so much more they could do to help the agricultural sector. True […]
Awards celebrate the food and fibre sector employer excellence
Exceptional employment practices in the primary industries have been celebrated at the Good Employer Awards, held at Parliament on Monday evening, 12th April. “Tonight’s awards provided the opportunity to celebrate and thank those employers in the food and fibres sector who have gone beyond business-as-usual in creating productive, safe, supportive, and healthy work environments for […]
Federated Farmers sees MIQ opportunity for agriculture
Federated Farmers hopes that the Government will take the opportunity of newly available space in MIQ quarantine to bring much-needed workers for the primary industries into New Zealand. COVID-19 Response Minister Chris Hipkins estimates that the Australian quarantine-free travel bubble will free up 1000 to 1300 beds in MIQ a fortnight. “MIQ spacing has been […]