Federated Farmers believes the final Climate Change Commission report released today will need to be backed up with significant investment in improving access to science and technology on farm, and the people needed to operate it. Back in February Feds was relatively upbeat about the report and the challenges it posed for New Zealanders, and […]
government
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 […]
#Bringthemhome
It’s time for a good old-fashioned letter writing campaign. I am not a psychologist or a therapist, but my skills at helping others when they are at near breaking-point have been getting a good work out lately. I take a call every day from someone who is desperately trying to figure out how they can […]
Economic Week – May 14
Budget 2021. Next Thursday Finance Minister Grant Robertson will deliver his fourth Budget, and his first unencumbered by coalition politics and horse trading. What can we expect? This will be a Labour Budget. We can expect more spending on traditional Labour priorities like health, education, and welfare. There will be a focus on things like […]
Water Services Bill puts ratepayers on the hook for failing private supplies
Media Release by LGNZ Local Government New Zealand (LGNZ) has today presented to the Health Select Committee on the Water Services Bill, raising serious concerns about a flood of costs for ratepayers if councils are forced to take over failing private water supplies. Presenting to the Committee, LGNZ President Stuart Crosby said that while the […]
GDT surges, commodities up, exports down
by Nick Clark, Federated Farmers Manager General Policy GDT surges Dairy prices leapt at this week’s Global Dairy Trade auction, up a whopping 15.0% at this week’s auction. Whole milk powder, by far the biggest commodity by volume, led the way in jumping 21.0% compared to a fortnight ago. Almost all the other commodities also […]
Economic Week – February 19
by Nick Clark, Federated Farmers Manager General Policy Seven in a row Continued strong demand from China saw dairy prices increase again in this week’s Global Dairy Trade auction. The GDT Price Index was up 3.0% compared to the previous auction a fortnight ago. All six commodities on offer increased in price, led by whole […]
Time for agriculture to promote the true benefits of farm jobs
By Chris Lewis, Federated Farmers employment spokesperson OPINION: Farmers would have been largely unsurprised by the recent dip in unemployment figures. The almost 800 jobs advertised in the dairy industry pretty much every week since Covid-19 reared its ugly head is a clear sign that New Zealanders are not out there clamouring for work, or […]