MANAGEMENT
MACHINERY & PRODUCTS
NEWS
Farmers living the dream!.
First self-drive tractors on the yards. PAGE 28
Farmers up their game. PAGE 6
PAGE 24-25
TO ALL FARMERS, FOR ALL FARMERS AUGUST 10, 2021: ISSUE 732
www.ruralnews.co.nz
Govt won’t budge! PETER BURKE peterb@ruralnews.co.nz
AGRICULTURE MINISTER Damien O’Connor has hit out at critics of the Government who want them to halt various water and climate change reforms. He told delegates at the recent Red Meat Sector Conference in Rotorua that New Zealand “just has to keep moving on in that direction”. He claims the idea that we can keep on doing what we are doing is com-
pletely naive and will lead NZ up the wrong path. O’Connor claims that the Government has been listening to critics of the freshwater reforms and has made changes. “We have slowed down on the likes the freshwater stuff. “We took on board the signals that this was just dumb and that it hadn’t been worked through in a practical sense,” he says. “We are listening are trying to bring the people on the land with us, but we
have to get the people on the land to understand that we are producing protein for some of the world’s most discerning customers.” O’Connor claims these people want to know where our products come from and that we have looked after that production. He says it doesn’t help NZ’s cause when farmers make mistakes with animal welfare or allow animals to be hock deep in muddy paddocks. He adds that images and messages of these incidents are quickly picked
up in the high value markets NZ wants to sell into. In that respect, O’Connor says in his recent travels to the UK and Europe he was reminded once again of the market opportunities that await NZ because of our pasture-based system and general farm management systems. He reckons these put us in the right spot for consumers who are interested in how we treat our animals, how we preserve our biodiversity and our commitment to research on issues such as climate change. He says little things
like the bees that pollinate our pastures often get overlooked back in NZ but are often top of mind for overseas consumers. O’Connor also gave a brief outline of his talks in Brussels and London. “The UK is looking very positive and the EU says it plans to come back with an offer after their summer break,” he told the conference. “I would say the signals are positive as they want to connect with us because we share many of their core values.”
Big job ahead! WESTPORT MOTHER and daughter team Lisa and Karen Milligan, who only recently bought a small dairy farm bordering the Buller River, are now struggling to get back on their feet after the huge flood of mid-July. A huge gully scoured out of the farm, which Lisa believes will, along with other similar areas, have to be fenced off for long-term remediation and planting, representing a significant permanent loss of pasture for a small farm. On July 17, nearly all of the farm was flooded, with water covering the pastures, running through the milking shed and other buildings and lapping around the house. The flood was at levels no-one in the district had ever seen and while the water has now receded, it has left pasture covered in silt and fences and water troughs ripped out. – See more page 5. PHOTO NIGEL MALTHUS
LIKE TO PUT BACK IN WHAT YOU GET OUT? THE FEELING’S MUTUAL.
As a mutually owned insurer, any profits we make go straight back into the business, not shareholders’ pockets. If that sounds good to you, ask around about us. Or better still, call us now on 0800 366 466. FMG086RNFPS_M
We’re here for the good of the country.