365 days of gratitude

My farmer gave our lawns the first mow of spring today.

If the lawn is growing, so too is pasture and without the need for irrigation.

A series of nor-westers could dry the ground quickly, and too much rain could make things soggy.

But so far, we’re having enough rain without too much. That’s giving us a good start to spring and I’m grateful for that.

 

Word of the day

Wester – to move or appear to move towards the west; to travel, be drawn, shift or turn westward; a wind blowing from the west.

 

To the point

A useful guide and not just for researchers ;

Utopia, you are standing in it!

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Saturday’s smiles

 

By entering this church it may be possible that you hear “the call of God”. However, it is less probable that He will call you on your mobile. Thank you for turning off your phones. If you want to talk to God, enter, choose a quiet place and talk to him. If you want to see him, send him a text while driving.

Rural round-up

Call for compo for farmers maintaining walkways – Maja Burry:

A high country farmer says there should be compensation for landholders affected by increasing visitor numbers.

A draft report published earlier this year by the Walking Access Commission found that a growing population, combined with record international tourist numbers is putting pressure on some access to the South Island High Country.

Andrew Simpson, who owns Balmoral Station at Lake Tekapo, said about 100,000 people use the Mt John Walkway on his farm each year.

Mr Simpson said he wanted people to enjoy his land, but he was having to spend tens of thousands of dollars on track maintenance this year, even with some support from the Department of Conservation. . .

Farmer leaders back off – Neal Wallace:

Farming sector leaders are unimpressed by the last-minute inclusion of far-reaching search and surveillance powers changes to the National Animal Identification and Tracking Act.

Federated Farmers, DairyNZ and Beef + Lamb NZ leaders, who endorsed the changes a week ago, said they understand the need for the change but the late additions should have been open to public scrutiny instead of being pushed through Parliament under urgency.

The Farmers Weekly was told a drafting error omitted the search and surveillance powers from the original Nait Act.

Farming sector leaders have been criticised for supporting the changes but they now say they were unhappy at the rushed legislated process. . . 

It really does depend which way you look right now at #MangaRa Station. pic.twitter.com/Hc3LJhJmhp

— William Morrison (@MorrisonFarming) August 24, 2018

NAIT still long way from meeting original objective – Allan Barber:

NAIT is like a long running soap opera which viewers can watch faithfully for a couple of years, go back to after a long absence and find nothing much has changed. It was first thought of back in 2004, took eight years of argument, design, business case preparation and readings in parliament and it was finally implemented in July 2012 with a three year lead-in for cattle.

In 2016 a review was started which was finally completed in May this year and presented to the present Minister for Primary Industries. When it finally saw the light of day, you could have been forgiven for thinking it would be a review of all the reasons NAIT doesn’t yet appear to be working properly, but I understand it was always intended to be a routine review of the programme after three years in operation. . . 

Exchange rate reset will breathe new life to agriculture – Keith Woodford:

The recent decline in the value of the New Zealand dollar is about to breathe new life into agriculture. It will take some months before the benefits flow through to farm level, but the macro signs are there to be seen.

The key question is whether we are seeing a strategic reset or is it just short term. My own thinking is that it is medium term through to around three years and maybe beyond, but with inevitable volatility. Beyond that I cannot see.

First let’s get the basic maths sorted out. A lower value of the New Zealand dollar means that we get more New Zealand dollars for exports. And in the New Zealand context, that largely relates to our primary industries, principally agriculture and horticulture, but also forestry and fishing. . . 

A new weapon will help in the Stink Bug battle:

The addition of another weapon to fight any incursion of the Brown Marmorated Stink Bug on our shores is excellent news, Federated Farmers biosecurity spokesperson Karen Wiliams says.

“We’re delighted to learn the Environmental Protection Authority will allow controlled release of the tiny Samurai Wasp if this stink bug were ever to get a foothold here.

“The BMSB is a scourge that could put a multi-billion dollar hit on our economy. For arable and horticulture farmers, a scenario where a breeding population could get established here is a nightmare,” Karen says. . .

Seeka 1H profit falls on further banana business writedown – Sophie Boot:

(BusinessDesk) – Seeka, New Zealand’s biggest kiwifruit grower, posted a 6.5 percent decline in first-half profit despite revenue rising, as it wrote down the value of its banana-sourcing business further.

The Te Puke-based company reported profit of $10.4 million in the six months ended June 30, from $11 million in the same period a year earlier. Seeka said the bottom line included a $1.5 million writedown of goodwill to its tropical fruit business, Seeka Glassfields. Revenue rose 8.5 percent to $145.4 million, and earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation lifted 7 percent to $23.5 million. . . 

Federated Farmers keen to work with new Extension Service:

A new extension service intended to bring knowledge and resources to farmers struggling to keep up on production efficiency and environmental protection fronts is a “positive”, Federated Farmers board member and Arable chairperson Karen Williams says.

“Offering support so farmers can get up to speed is certainly preferable, and more likely to achieve progress, than wielding the big stick of fines and more regulations.

“The new extension service could prove helpful but we would urge MPI to continue to work with farming groups on the mechanics of it and how it is rolled out,” Karen said. . .

Young Grower title goes back to the Bay – Danni van der Heijden has been named Young Grower of the Year 2018. https://t.co/KWfDZLLkcD#YGoY #YoungGrower #agchat #agchatnz pic.twitter.com/fuXSXyvbJp

— Horticulture New Zealand (@HortNZ) August 23, 2018

Apple and stonefruit group willing to engage in meaningful discussions with MPI following High Court judgment:

The group of five industry members who joined together to challenge MPI’s directive for nurseries and orchardists to contain and/or destroy tens of thousands of apple (Malus) and stonefruit (Prunus) plants has received the High Court judgment and is currently reviewing this in detail.

The judge found that the MPI directions, issued under s116 of the Biosecurity Act were unlawful and has directed MPI to reconsider.

The judgment encourages MPI to work with industry to develop and agree a more appropriate set of directions that address their key biosecurity concerns. . .

So . . .

Jacinda Ardern knew on Monday about Clare Curran’s second strike.

Why did she wait until 4pm Friday to announce she was sacked?

And why was she sacked from Cabinet but not as a minister?

 

Saturday soapbox

Saturday’s soapbox is yours to use as you will – within the bounds of decency and absence of defamation. You’re welcome to look back or forward, discuss issues of the moment, to pontificate, ponder or point us to something of interest, to educate, elucidate or entertain, amuse, bemuse or simply muse, but not abuse.

Respect is earned. Honesty is appreciated. Love is gained. Loyalty is returned.

August 25 in history

1248 The Dutch city of Ommen received city rights and fortification rights from Otto III, the Archbishop of Utrecht.

1530 Tsar Ivan IV of Russia – Ivan the Terrible – was born (d. 1584)

1537 The Honourable Artillery Company, the oldest surviving regiment in the British Army and the second most senior, was formed.

1580  Battle of Alcântara. Spain defeated Portugal.

1609  Galileo Galilei demonstrated his first telescope to Venetian lawmakers.

1724 George Stubbs, British painter, was born (d. 1806).

1758 Seven Years’ War: Frederick II of Prussia defeated the Russian army at the Battle of Zorndorf.

1768 James Cook began his first voyage.

1817  – Marie-Eugénie de Jésus, French nun and saint, founded the Religious of the Assumption, was born (d. 1898).

1825 Uruguay declared its independence from Brazil.

1830 The Belgian Revolution began.

1835  The New York Sun perpetrated the Great Moon Hoax.

1894  Shibasaburo Kitasato discoversedthe infectious agent of the bubonic plague and published his findings in The Lancet.

1898  700 Greeks and 15 Englishmen are killed by the Turks in Heraklion, Greece.

1900 Hans Adolf Krebs, German physician and biochemist; Nobel Prize laureate, was born (d. 1981).

1910 – Dorothea Tanning, American painter, sculptor, and poet, was born (d. 2012).

1910  Yellow Cab was founded.

1912 The Kuomintang, the Chinese nationalist party, was founded.

1916 – Private Frank Hughes was killed by a firing squad in Hallencourt, northern France, the first New Zealand soldier to be executed.

1916 The United States National Park Service  was created.

1918 Leonard Bernstein, American conductor and composer, was born (d. 1990).

1920 Polish-Soviet War: Battle of Warsaw,  ended.

1920 – Captain Euan Dickson completed the first air crossing of Cook Strait, flying a 110-hp Le Rhone Avro from Christchurch to Upper Hutt and carrying the first air mail between the South and North Islands.

1921  The first skirmishes of the Battle of Blair Mountain.

1925 – Thea Astley, Australian journalist and author, was born (d. 2004).

1930 Sean Connery, Scottish actor, was born.

1930 Bruce Allpress, New Zealand actor, was born.

1933 The Diexi earthquake struck Mao County, Sichuan, China and killed 9,000 people.

1938 Frederick Forsyth, English author, was born.

1942 World War II: Battle of Milne Bay, Papua New Guinea.

1944 Paris was liberated by the Allies.

1945  Supporters of the Communist Party of China killed Baptist missionary John Birch, regarded by some of the American right as the first victim of the Cold War.

1946 Charles Ghigna (Father Goose), American poet and children’s author, was born.

1948 Three people died and 80 were injured when a tornado hit Frankton on the outskirts of Hamilton.

1948 – The House Un-American Activities Committee held its first-ever televised congressional hearing: “Confrontation Day” between Whittaker Chambers and Alger Hiss.

1949 Martin Amis, English novelist, was born.

1949  Gene Simmons, Israeli-born musician (Kiss), was born.

1950  President Harry Truman ordered the US Army to seize control of the nation’s railroads to avert a strike.

1954 Elvis Costello, English musician, was born.

1961 Billy Ray Cyrus, American singer and actor, was born.

1970 Claudia Schiffer, German model, was born.

198  Tadeusz Mazowiecki was chosen as the first non-communist Prime Minister in Central and Eastern Europe.

1989  Voyager 2 spacecraft made its closest approach to Neptune, the outermost planet in the Solar System.

1989  Mayumi Moriyama became Japan’s first female cabinet secretary.

1991  Belarus declared its independence from the Soviet Union.

1991 – The Battle of Vukovar began.

1997  Egon Krenz, the former East German leader, was convicted of a shoot-to-kill policy at the Berlin Wall.

2003  The Tli Cho land claims agreement was signed between the Dogrib First Nations and the Canadian federal government in Rae-Edzo (now called Behchoko).

2012 – Voyager 1 spacecraft entered interstellar space becoming the first man-made object to do so.

2013 – 6 people died and 22 were injured when a train derailed in Huimanguillo, Tabasco, Mexico.

Sourced from NZ History Online & Wikipedia