366 days of gratitude

I’m old enough to have called them Chinese gooseberries.

That name wasn’t suited to export markets and their name was changed to kiwifruit – or more commonly everywhere except New Zealand and Australia, they’re known simply as kiwis.

I eat them on toast with cottage cheese and in yogurt with sunflower and pumpkin seeds.

They also go well with ham and camembert or brie in sandwiches, look and taste good in fruit salad, are the equal of strawberries or raspberries for topping pavlovas and of course are good eaten by themselves.

They are nutrient dense and delicious  and I’m grateful that they are both plentiful and inexpensive.

P.S.

Apropos of fruit formerly known as something else, at much the same time Chinese gooseberries became kiwifruit, tree tomatoes became tamarillos. They too have nutritional value but I haven’t learned to like them yet.

Word of the day

Consanguinity – relationship by descent from a common ancestor; kinship; of the same blood or origin.

Rural round-up

Agriculture could be included in Emissions Trading Scheme – Kate Gudsell:

The Treasury has raised the possibility of agriculture being included in the Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS) after years of being exempt from charges.

The move is suggested in a March Treasury briefing to Finance Minister Bill English and his two associates Steven Joyce and Paula Bennett.

The briefing outlines the financial risk the government faces from scrapping the one-for-two scheme – a 50 percent subsidy for polluters which meant they paid half the value of their greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. . . 

Local government needs you:

With nominations for this year’s local authority elections opening on Friday, Federated Farmers is calling on farmers and other business-minded people to consider standing for election.

Federated Farmers’ Local Government spokesperson Katie Milne said it’s  vitally important that we get good candidates to put themselves forward.

“Being a councillor is a challenging role but farmers can make a real difference on councils as they can inform and educate their colleagues and staff about what happens on-farm. . .

Battle for our Birds 2016 operations begin:

The largest pest control operation in New Zealand’s history has been launched today by Conservation Minister Maggie Barry.

Battle for our Birds 2016 will protect our nation’s most vulnerable native species from the potentially catastrophic explosion of rats and stoats in New Zealand forests as a result of a beech mast event.

At an event at Bob’s Cove near Queenstown today Ms Barry announced aerial 1080 drops have been confirmed for 19 sites covering more than 720,000 hectares of high value land. . . 

Meat exporters facing foreign exchange headwinds:

Meat Industry Association Chief Executive Tim Ritchie says uncertainty in the EU as a result of Brexit is one of the causes of a higher exchange rate, which will significantly affect prices our exporters receive in the European market. This, in turn, affects the prices meat processors can pay farmers for their livestock. Volatility in exchange rates has already had a significant impact on meat exporters, which led to eroded margins in the last season.

This year, the volatility looks like it will get worse. A year ago, a NZD was worth 0.43 GBP, but is currently 0.53 GBP, with the NZD rising sharply against the GBP since the Brexit referendum.  . . 

Rabobank Global Wine Quarterly Q3: Opportunities for wine supply and trade in South-East Asia:

Markets in South-East Asia are calling out to be explored, as opportunities in the region lie beyond China and Japan. Meanwhile, the short South American harvests and the Brexit are leading developments in global wine supply and trade, according to the Rabobank Global Wine Quarterly Q3 2016.

‘Other’ Asia

Headwinds for wine consumption in South-East Asia still dominate the outlook in the near term, however opportunities are nevertheless apparent, and some positive longer term fundamental drivers are present should the necessary catalysts set them in motion.. . .

LIC full year result 2015-2016:

Farmer-owned co-operative, Livestock Improvement Corporation (NZX: LIC), has announced its result for the year ending 31 May 2016.

The financial result is summarised below with background information attached to NZX, including Chairman Murray King’s letter to LIC shareholders.

Revenue: LIC revenue from ordinary activities was $205 million and including other income from grants, totals $211 million, 9% down on the total $232 million achieved during 2014-2015. Lower milk prices have impacted on-farm buying decisions, as many farmers look to reduce costs and indeed go into survival mode through the difficult financial times facing dairy farmers. . .

How the EU Budget is spent – Common Agricultural Policy – Gianluca Sgueo, Francesco Tropea and Marie-Laure Augere-Granier:

With 52% of the European Union (EU) territory classified as predominantly rural, more than 170 million hectares of agricultural land, and 113 million people (nearly one quarter of the EU population) living in rural areas, the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) represents one of the largest shares of expenditure from the EU budget. The CAP pools European Union resources spent on agriculture to protect the viable production of food, the sustainable management of natural resources, and to support rural vitality.

The CAP consists of two ‘pillars’, the first includes direct payments (i.e. annual payments to farmers to help stabilise farm revenues in the face of volatile market prices and weather conditions) and market measures (to tackle specific market situations and to support trade promotion). The second pillar concerns rural development policy and it is aimed at achieving balanced territorial development and sustaining a farming sector that is environmentally sound, as well as promoting competitiveness and innovation. . .  (Hat Tip – Utopia)

Wool Market Steady:

New Zealand Wool Services International Limited’s CEO, Mr John Dawson reports that the North Island Wool Auction received revived support this week with an improved 81 percent of the 5700 bales selling.

The weakening NZ dollar across the board saw the weighted currency indicator fall 4.22 percent. Despite these positive factors, local prices were still below last week’s South Island auction, but only marginally under the last more comparative North Island selection. . .

Friday’s answers

Andrei and Teletext get my thanks for once again posing yesterday’s questions.

Should they have stumped us all they can claim a virtual batch of Belgium square by leaving the answers below.

A snap in time

This month’s Roy Morgan poll shows a big jump in support for National and a slump in support for Labour:

During July support for National jumped a large 10% to 53%, now well ahead of a potential Labour/Greens alliance 37% (down 5.5%). If a New Zealand Election was held now the latest NZ Roy Morgan Poll shows National, with their biggest lead since May 2015, would win easily.

However, support for the National partners was down slightly with the Maori Party down 1.5% to 0.5%, Act NZ was up 0.5% to 1% and United Future was 0% (unchanged).

Support fell for all three Parliamentary Opposition parties; Labour’s support was 25.5% (down 2.5%) – the lowest support for Labour since May 2015; Greens support was 11.5% (down 3%) and NZ First 7% (down 2%). Of parties outside Parliament the Conservative Party of NZ was 0.5% (down 0.5%), the Mana Party was 0.5% (unchanged) and support for Independent/ Other was 0.5% (down 0.5%).

The NZ Roy Morgan Government Confidence Rating has increased to 127pts (up 6.5pts) in July with 57.5% (up 3%) of NZ electors saying NZ is ‘heading in the right direction’ compared to 30.5% (down 3.5%) that say NZ is ‘heading in the wrong direction’. . . 

Any poll is only a snap in time.

Last month’s snap showed a larger drop in support for the government, this month’s shows a larger increase.

This result indicates those snapped are more confident in the government and its direction in spite of the slew of negative headlines in the last few weeks.

It could indicate that people accept that problems a long time in the making will be a long time in the solving and aren’t looking to the government for miracles.

It could indicate that people looking at instability in so many other parts of the world are opting for stability here.

Whatever it indicates, it is only a snap in time and the next snap could be very different.

Quote of the day

 Good manners have much to do with the emotions. To make them ring true, one must feel them, not merely exhibit them. –  Amy Vanderbilt who was born on this day in 1908.

July 22 in history

838 – Battle of Anzen: the Byzantine emperor Theophilos suffered a heavy defeat by the Abbasids.

1099 – First Crusade: Godfrey of Bouillon was elected the first Defender of the Holy Sepulchre of The Kingdom of Jerusalem.

1209 – Massacre at Béziers: the first major military action of theAlbigensian Crusade.

1298 – Wars of Scottish Independence: Battle of Falkirk – King Edward I of England and his longbowmen defeated William Wallace and his Scottish schiltrons outside the town of Falkirk.

1456 – Ottoman Wars in Europe: Siege of Belgrade – John Hunyadi, Regent of the Kingdom of Hungary, defeats Mehmet II of the Ottoman Empire.

1484 – Battle of Lochmaben Fair – A 500-man raiding party led by Alexander Stewart, Duke of Albany and James Douglas, 9th Earl of Douglas were defeated by Scots forces loyal to Albany’s brother James III of Scotland; Douglas was captured.

1499 – Battle of Dornach – The Swiss decisively defeated the Imperial army of Emperor Maximilian I.

1510 Alessandro de’ Medici, Duke of Florence, was born  (d. 1537).

1587  Colony of Roanoke: a second group of English settlers arrived on Roanoke Island off North Carolina to re-establish the deserted colony.

1793 Alexander Mackenzie reached the Pacific Ocean becoming the first Euro-American to complete a transcontinental crossing of Canada.

1805  Napoleonic Wars: War of the Third Coalition – Battle of Cape Finisterre – an inconclusive naval action was fought between a combined French and Spanish fleets under Admiral Pierre-Charles Villeneuve of Spain and a British fleet under Admiral Robert Calder.

1812  Napoleonic Wars: Peninsular War – Battle of Salamanca – British forces led by Arthur Wellesley (later the Duke of Wellington) defeated French troops.

1844 William Archibald Spooner, English priest and scholar, was born  (d. 1930).

1849 Emma Lazarus, American poet, was born (d. 1887).

1864 – American Civil War:  Battle of Atlanta – Confederate General John Bell Hood led an unsuccessful attack on Union troops under General William T. Sherman on Bald Hill.

1890  Rose Fitzgerald Kennedy, American Kennedy family matriarch, was born (d. 1995).

1894  First ever motorised racing event was held between the cities of Paris and Rouen – won by comte Jules-Albert de Dion.

1908 Amy Vanderbilt, American author, was born (d. 1974).

1916 A bomb exploded on Market Street, San Francisco during a Preparedness Day parade killing 10 and injuring 40.

1932 Oscar De la Renta, Dominican/American fashion designer, was born.

1933 Wiley Post became the first person to fly solo around the world traveling 15,596 miles in 7 days, 18 hours and 45 minutes.

1934 “Public Enemy No. 1″ John Dillinger was mortally wounded by FBI agents.

1936 Tom Robbins, American author, was born.

1942  The United States government began compulsory civilian gasolinerationing due to the wartime demands.

1942  Holocaust: the systematic deportation of Jews from the Warsaw Ghetto began.

1943  Bobby Sherman, American singer and actor, was born.

1944 Anand Satyanand, former Governor-General of New Zealand, was born.

1944 Estelle Bennett, American singer (Ronettes), was born (d. 2009).

1944  Rick Davies, British musician (Supertramp) , was born.

1944  The Polish Committee of National Liberation published its manifesto, starting the period of Communist rule.

1946  King David Hotel bombing: Irgun bombed King David Hotel in Jerusalem, headquarters of the British civil and military administration, killing 90.

1947  Don Henley, American musician (Eagles), was born.

1951 Dezik (Дезик) and Tsygan (Цыган, “Gypsy”) were the first dogs to make a sub-orbital flight.

1962 Mariner programme: Mariner 1 spacecraft flew erratically several minutes after launch and had to be destroyed.

1970 Craig Baird, New Zealander racing driver, was born.

1976  Japan completed its last reparation to the Philippines for war crimes committed in Japan’s imperial conquest of the country in the Second World War

1977  Chinese leader Deng Xiaoping was restored to power.

1980 Scott Dixon, New Zealand racing driver, was born.

1983 Martial law in Poland was officially revoked.

1987 Lotto went on sale for the first time with a first division prize of $360,000.

1992   Colombian drug lord Pablo Escobar escaped from his luxury prison.

1993  Great Flood of 1993: Levees near Kaskaskia, Illinois ruptured, forcing the entire town to evacuate by barges operated by the Army Corps of Engineers.

1997 The second Blue Water Bridge opened between Port Huron, Michigan and Sarnia, Ontario.

2002 Israel killed terrorist Salah Shahade, the Commander-in-Chief of Hamas’s military arm, the Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Brigades.

2002 – Prince Felix of Denmark was born.

2003 Members of 101st Airborne of the United States, aided by Special Forces, attacked a compound in Iraq, killing Saddam Hussein’s sons Udayand Qusay, plus Mustapha Hussein, Qusay’s 14-year old son, and a bodyguard.

2005  Jean Charles de Menezes was killed by police as the hunt started for the London Bombers responsible for the 7 July 2005 London bombings and the 21 July 2005 London bombings.

2011 – Twin terror attacks in Norway:  the first being a bomb blast which targeted government buildings in central Oslo, the second being a massacre at a youth camp on the island of Utøya.

2012 – Bradley Wiggins became the first Briton to win the Tour de France.

2013 – A series of earthquakes in Dingxi, China, killed at least 89 people and injureed more than 500 others.

2013 –  Prince George of Cambridge was born.

2015 – Three people died and 17 were injured in a collision between a Pendolino train and a lorry that occurred near Studénka, north Moravia, in the Czech Republic.

Sourced from NZ History Online & Wikipedia