back to the future
hottest hatch
Landcorp’s Rolls Peak Station takes you back in time. pages 28-29
A Renault Megane RS250 impressed its driver in the Targa rally. page 49
Rural NEWS
rma revamp Greater Wellington Regional Council chairwoman Fran Wilde calls for an overhaul.
page 12
to all farmers, for all farmers
november 15, 2011: Issue 504
Exemption on the cards? AGRICULTURE MINISTER David Carter says while farmers are slowly warming to the idea of climate change the Government will not prematurely include agriculture into an emissions trading scheme (ETS). “There’s a very good chance’ agriculture’s entry into ETS will be further delayed if new technologies are unavailable and little progress is made internationally on reducing farm greenhouse gas emissions,” he says. “We will review ETS legislation in 2014 and we will be watching the progress our international competitors make and what mechanisms are available for farmers to mitigate greenhouse gas emissions,” Carter told Rural News. “If we’re not satisfied on these counts, there will be further delay in agriculture’s entry into ETS.” Carter believes farmers are increasingly accepting humaninduced climate change as a challenge. “We need to play our part. The level of scepticism is low. There are still sceptics, but not as pronounced 12 months ago.” National released its climate change policy for this month’s general election and it plans to introduce agriculture into ETS in 2015
www.ruralnews.co.nz
Govt mulls Psa help SUD ESH KISSUN
THE GOVERNMENT may further aid Psa-stricken kiwifruit growers via a fund set up to deal with adverse weather. MAF’s Adverse Events Fund helps farmers affected by snow storms, droughts and floods. Agriculture Minister David Carter wants to add biosecurity incursions to its list. “We’re working to see if financial assistance can be extended to biosecurity incursion events in light of what’s happening in the kiwifruit industry,”
he told Rural News. Any decision will be made after the election. Carter says Psa is spreading quickly in the Bay of Plenty. The vine disease, first discovered in Te Puke in November last year, had by this month infected vines in 689 orchards – most of them in Te Puke. Other affected areas are Katikati, Tauranga, Waihi, Opotiki, Whakatane and Kerikeri. The infected vines represent 20% of New Zealand’s kiwifruit area. Horticulture New Zealand president and affected kiwifruit grower Andrew
Fenton says growers will welcome any assistance. “These guys need assistance from every direction they can,” he says. Fenton says after heavy rain two weeks ago, there was a spike in Psa cases. “The number of affected orchards is up every day.” Fenton, who has lost about 15% of his own orchard to Psa, expects a big hit on the 2012 national crop. It will be another three weeks before growers record their crop estimations with pack houses and Zespri receives a report on how many
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vines have been removed and what the total harvest for next year is likely to be. Fenton says the disease is expected to spread to most orchards over the next 12 months. “For those harvesting kiwifruit next year it may be their last one,” he says. Fenton says growers are happy with Government assistance to the industry so far. It has provided $25 million so far. Most of this money has been used by the industry to combat the spread of Psa and researching cultivars that will cope with the disease. Carter says the industry is making progress, but a solution is not in sight. Fenton says he has heard that a Psaresistant variety is still two to three years away. “Those who can hang on for several years may be able to replant,” he says. “It’s sad to see a billion dollar industry in this situation.”
Christchurch’s blue ribbon event Grey skies and cool temperatures didn’t deter more than 10,000 people from attending the first day of the Canterbury A&P show. Organisers expected to draw at least 100,000 visitors for the three day event. Among the show goers were thousands of Christchurch school children, keen to get relief from the quakes still rattling the region and for many this was their first taste of farm life. More from the event on page 10.
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