By Simon Edwards If there’s one thing about the whole winter grazing saga that brasses off Bernadette Hunt (and to be fair, there are quite a few things) it’s the impression some have that farmers have only just woken up to the need to lift their game on getting animals through the cold months while […]
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RTF welcomes CoF and licence extensions
The Road Transport Forum (RTF) welcomes Transport Minister Michael Wood’s announcement today that driver licences, Warrants of Fitness (WoFs), Certificates of Fitness (CoFs), vehicle licences and licence endorsements that expired on or after 21 July 2021 will be valid until 30 November 2021, says chief executive Nick Leggett. “In our heavily regulated industry, paperwork matters,” […]
Scholarship gives young people boost into beekeeping career
Young people interested in a beekeeping career are being encouraged to apply for the annual Ron Mossop Youth Scholarship, sponsored by Mossop’s Honey and Apiculture New Zealand. The scholarship was set up three years ago as a way of giving young people the best possible start in the apiculture industry. The scholarship includes $2000 to […]
Managing pesticide resistance threat
Pesticide resistance is a serious challenge for the farming sector – decreasing its ability to manage pests and diseases such as Blackspot (apples), powdery mildew (a fungal disease affecting a wide range of plants), diamond back moth and weeds affecting ryegrass. Farmers, industry and government all have a part to play to manage it. Farmers […]
New Zealand beef genetics to receive $16.7m injection
Beef + Lamb New Zealand (B+LNZ) are partnering in a new $16.7 million beef genetics programme, with the potential to boost the sector’s profits by $460 million over the next 25 years. The Ministry for Primary Industries (MPI) is co-investing in the seven-year partnership through its Sustainable Food and Fibre Futures fund. Called Informing New […]
A shepherd’s warning
Pink sky in the morning is a shepherds warning, but today I’d like to give a little warning of my own. This time last year in New Zealand we had five deaths on farm. That’s five families that are absolutely heartbroken this year as they are forced to relive the tragic events that struck their […]
Don’t set the world on fire!
Many high country and hill farmers in Canterbury have permits from ECan allowing them to burn during September, BUT we need to remember to please contact Fire and Emergency NZ first, this is essential to ensure fires are managed safely during Level 3 lockdown. We all understand that the use of fire is an important […]
Economic Week – September 3
by Nick Clark, Federated Farmers Manager General Policy Terms of trade back to record high Higher export prices in the June quarter pushed up the merchandise terms of trade, according to Statistics NZ’s International Trade Indexes. Export prices for goods rose 8.3% on the previous quarter, while import prices rose 4.8%. Stats NZ noted that […]
People drive positivity
The Dairy industry is currently burdened with numerous government and local policies and negative connotations from some sectors with little knowledge of how much farmers care for their land and livestock to the point that they become sleep deprived due to dedication and lack of suitable staffing allocations. The primary sector should be proud of […]
Feds backs the butcher, the baker, and the greengrocer – again
Federated Farmers says the government needs to reconsider and let small business fresh food sellers stay open under level 4. Last year Federated Farmers national president Andrew Hoggard was vocal about Feds’ position. “We pleaded for common sense to prevail, we have had over one year to sort this out – yet it is not.” New […]