NEWS
MACHINERY & PRODUCTS
AGRIBUSINESS
30-year veteran takes out Arable Farmer of the Year title. PAGE 21
Steel yards are safer and ease cattle flow. PAGE 39
Turning farmers into consumers is the objective of McDonald’s New Zealand farmer tours. PAGE 24-25
TO ALL FARMERS, FOR ALL FARMERS AUGUST 21, 2018: ISSUE 659
www.ruralnews.co.nz
‘Get used to it!’ PAM TIPA pamelat@ruralnews.co.nz
ON THE increasing costs of farming in New Zealand, Agriculture Minister Damien O’Connor says “get used to it”. “The reality is we are in a world that is scrutinising every part of our farming operation,” he says. “They want to know where their products came from; whether they are a supermarket or a consumer, they want to know more about what they are consuming.” For the most part, we produce fine food, nutrition and fibre, O’Connor told the NZ Institute of Primary Industry Management conference. However, he claims a recent apple contract was lost in the United Kingdom because the exporter couldn’t guarantee that the labour component of that production system gave fair wages and conditions. “It’s a wake-up call for that industry; we will be under the same level of scrutiny for every part of our systems – animal welfare, environmental management, labour.” He says NAIT was seen as an unnecessary cost when it was introduced, in the same way as water and nutrient management are now seen by some as an extra cost to farming operations. O’Connor was questioned about the purpose of the Primary Sector Council which he set up to ‘provide advice to the Government on issues confronting the primary industries, with an immediate focus on developing a sector-wide vision’. “We are spending hundreds of mil-
lions in the Primary Growth Partnerships (PGPs) and hundreds of millions in infrastructure supporting our industries. What for? So we can double our exports? Give more profits to the banks? Make people work harder and rely more on migrant workers?” he told the conference. “The question is, ‘why are we doing
it and are we heading in the right direction?’ [The council] has quickly identified the issues on training, CRIs and research… where there is dysfunction. “In some areas we are certainly not using our capability as we should. In the few meetings the council has had, I think they are on the mark. “They will not come up with a magical solution, but they will come up
with some direction for each of the sectors to work through.” O’Connor then had a dig at PGPs – implemented by the previous government – for being like “confetti thrown around”. “Most people in agribusiness have benefited in some way from PGP. The problem is when that finishes, where are you?”
Out with the old... and in with the new FONTERRA CHAIR John Monaghan and newly announced interim chief executive Miles Hurrell will take over the reins at the dairy co-op. Monaghan last month replaced long-time chair John Wilson and Hurrell was appointed last week, formally replacing outgoing boss Theo Spierings on September 1. Monaghan says Fonterra’s board believes it is not best practice to have the chairman and chief executive stand down at the same time. “We have stopped the global chief executive search while we review the co-op’s current portfolio and direction. It’s important that we give ourselves the time to take stock of where we are, breathe some fresh air into the business, then determine any changes needed.” – See more page 4.
HILL COUNTRY GOING WELL PETER BURKE peterb@ruralnews.co.nz
BEEF + Lamb NZ director Kirsten Bryant is concerned about the perception that hill country farmers aren’t doing well. Bryant says she and her husband have three hill country farms and financially they have never done as well as they are doing now. Their properties are returning 5% to 8% on capital. “I don’t know where this perception that hill country farming is not profitable has come from,” she told Rural News. “For a start, let’s not forget about hill country farms that this is where the lambs are bred. So you start focusing on hill country farming as a negative and talking it down and soon you are going to lose your breeding ewes and total lamb production,” she says. Bryant says BLNZ has work to do to dispel the thinking that hill country farms are not profitable. She says, in general, things are looking positive for sheep and beef farmers. However, a whole lot of things are changing outside the farmgate and the challenge is going to be keeping farmers abreast of all of these developments and helping them to adapt in a positive way. Bryant says the big issues relate to environmental performance, climate change, water quality and health and safety
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