Word of the day

Mixship – a villainous deed.

Milne muses

"How immensely important to us are those things in our life that are stable and unchanging. So much of our world is in motion. How welcome are the bits that stand still." ~C.R. Milne #nature #SaturdayMotivation #SaturdayMorning #peace #calm pic.twitter.com/tgVGof0OeP

— A.A.Milne (@A_AMilne) August 15, 2020

Rural round-up

Time to get real about who we’re letting into NZ – Esther Taunton:

Picture this – you’re stranded on a desert island, absolutely ravenous and bored out of your mind.

Two crates fall from the sky. One is full to the brim with food, the other contains a portable DVD player and a selection of blockbusters.

Which are you happier to see?

I could probably stop writing right there because most people are going to go with the food, for the simple fact that it will keep them alive. . . 

Business focus helps realise ownership goal – Colin Williscroft:

A changing New Zealand farming landscape has made it increasingly difficult for the next generation to get into farm ownership. Colin Williscroft spoke to Tim and Monique Neeson, who have bucked that trend.

As farm ownership has shifted away from the traditional family-owned model to one that is more corporate based, it has become harder for the next generation of young farmers to buy their own property.

Ruapehu farmers Tim and Monique Neeson, who farm at the end of a no-exit gravel road in Tokirima on the Forgotten World Highway between Whangamomona and Taumarunui, say they are aware that others of their generation have found it difficult to achieve what they have – become farm owners.

For them they knew early on that ownership was what they wanted and focused on that goal; it was just a matter of working out how to achieve it. . . 

 

Saddle-maker learned to fix gear while mustering – Sandy Eggleston:

Barry (Salty) Cox’s interest in making leather goods has its origins in the days when he worked on Glenaray Station.

The 80-year-old Freshford man has worked with leather since as a young man he worked on the station as a musterer.

Mr Cox said 60 years ago much of the stock work on the station was done on horseback. . .

Scheme aims to boost dairy apprenticeships – Colin Williscroft:

Dairy farmers now have financial incentive to take on an apprentice.

Under the Apprenticeship Boost scheme, which began this month and is due to run until the end of next year, dairy farmers who take on an apprentice will be eligible for $1000 a month for the first year of an apprenticeship and $500 a month during the second year.

To be eligible, apprentices must be part of a Tertiary Education Commission-approved New Zealand apprenticeship or managed apprenticeship programme and have done less than two years of their training.

Employers can apply for the Apprenticeship Boost whether an apprentice has just started their training programme, or right up until near the end of their first two years. . . 

An action-packed farm experience for urban kids – Country Life:

Katie Earle started Bush Farm School because she’s passionate about sustainability and wants children to be more resilient and resourceful.

The primary school teacher has teamed up with Banks Peninsula sheep farmer Stella Bauer to develop a hands-on farm programme that gets 5 to 12 year-olds out of the classroom and understanding where food and fibre come from.

Most of the children have never been on a farm before and Earle thinks education needs to change to accommodate more land-based teaching.

“We have no behaviour issues, the kids are wholly engaged and they’re learning about the environment, where they live and how it all connects together,” she says. . . 

You feel a touch of winter but still a nice day pic.twitter.com/KgA68qHp05

— David Williams (@david_vacy) August 15, 2020

Ditch soy alternatives for cows’ milk says the Sustainable Food Trust – Oliver Morrison:

Consumers who want to help make a more sustainable planet should choose cows’ milk over soy alternatives, concludes a study of the published current evidence, based on peer reviewed journals, by the Sustainable Food Trust.

A 2018 Oxford University study claimed that making a glass of cow’s milk produces almost three times more greenhouse emissions and consumes nine times more land than and plant based alternative.

But these claims have been challenged by fresh research by the Sustainable Food Trust. . .

Sunday soapbox

Sunday’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.

Democracy not only requires equality but also an unshakable conviction in the value of each person, who is then equal. – Jeanne Kirkpatrick