Word of the day

Roil – make a liquid  turbid or muddy by disturbing the dregs or sediment; churn, stir up; disturb; disorder; cause something to stop working in the usual or expected way; agitate or cause to be agitated; annoy or irritate someone.

Rural round-up

Farmer = people that farm – Dr Mark Ferguson:

Growing up on our family farm in the Victoria Mallee, I had four fantastic role models, Mum and Dad on one side of the dam, and Dad’s parents, Mama and Pa on the other.

Pa had suffered a blood-clot in his leg and lost his leg from above the knee when I was very young so my only memories are of him on crutches or in a wheelchair.

That, of course, did not stop him from driving tractors, feeding sheep and the like, but he did rely on Mama to help him get these jobs done. Mum and Dad both worked off farm at various times to make ends meet. With this combination, making our farm tick was a real partnership of the four of them and, as soon as we were old enough to be useful, the three of us boys. There were a number of harvests where Mum drove the truck to town to deliver the grain while Dad was harvesting and Mama and Pa shifted field bins and augers etc. to keep everything moving. Although a generation has ticked over and it is now my brother Tim and his family farming with Mum and Dad, this team effort is what continues on the farm today. I never thought of it at the time, but looking back I do, I wonder whether Mum and Mama thought of themselves as farmers or farmers wives? . .

Environmental, business performance focus of study – Yvonne O’Hara:

All systems are go” for DairyNZ, AgResearch and the Southern Dairy Hub’s new participatory research project.

Planning had been under way for 12 months, and including looking for farmers to be part of the study.

“There was a bit of chequered start selecting farms as we couldn’t go out to do the interviews because of Covid-19, but all systems are go now,” DairyNZ senior scientist Dawn Dalley said. . . 

Calving 2020 might not be done but lambing 2020 is. 220% not bad for our big flock of 5 🤣🤣🤣 pic.twitter.com/ZU4v9yXE5Y

— Anieka Templer (@AniekaNick) October 9, 2020

Lewis Road Creamery sold to NZ investment fund :

Southern Pastures, the country’s biggest farmland investment fund, has bought the dairy brand Lewis Road Creamery for an undisclosed sum.

At the same time Lewis Road’s founder and chief executive Peter Cullinane has announced he would step down from his roles at the company.

“It’s been an incredible journey that started with a simple idea at my kitchen table. To now see the brand mature safely in the hands of investors who are farmers of such integrity and quality is a fantastic conclusion,” he said.

The fund had progressively purchased shares in the company since 2017 when it bought an initial 25 percent to help fund the company’s expansion overseas. . .

Commission consults on draft report on Fonterra’s 2020/21 Milk Price Manual:

The Commerce Commission today released its draft report on its annual review of Fonterra’s Farmgate Milk Price Manual for the 2020/21 dairy season.

This year’s review focused on the changes Fonterra has made to the Manual. These include amending the requirement for an independent reviewer to assess certain aspects of the milk price calculation, and the introduction of the ability to apply the outcome of a ‘Within-Period Review’ to the year in which the review is undertaken.

We consider the ‘Within-Period Review’ is inconsistent with the efficiency dimension of the purpose of the base milk price monitoring regime under the Act. The introduction of the ‘Within-Period Review’ rule could give rise to the replacement of benchmark inputs with current actual inputs. This may remove an incentive for Fonterra to beat a benchmark in the year of review. . . 

New Zealand commits to more women in the meat industry as inaugural gender global figures released:

New Zealand is committed to getting more women into the meat sector with new research showing women account for only 36 per cent of the industry’s global workforce.

The independent report, Gender Representation in the Meat Sector 2020, commissioned by Meat Business Women, shows women are under-represented at every level above junior positions, holding just 14 per cent of board-level director roles and just five per cent of chief executive roles.

The study also identifies ‘broken rungs’ in the career ladder that prevent women in the meat sector from advancing to more senior roles. It suggests women find it easier to pursue careers in marketing, finance, human resources, research & development and quality fields, however those disciplines rarely act as stepping stones into the most senior positions. . .

If the apocalypse comes I’ll be ready with my sheep army. pic.twitter.com/H78UQJ2ch9

— Pastures Old (@thestallsfarm) October 9, 2020

International Rural Women’s Day recognises women are taking on key roles in agriculture but still face challenges – Josh Becker and Amelia Bernasconi:

Trailblazing rural women are taking on key leadership roles in agriculture, but ongoing barriers in the classroom and on the farm have held back diversity gains.

Leading the nation’s peak agriculture body and its members through a pandemic is not something Fiona Simson has done alone, but something she has been a driving force of.

After growing up on a farm near Armidale in the New South Wales New England region, Ms Simson led a corporate career before turning to local government. . . 

 

Yes Sir Humphrey

Too much civil service work consists of circulating information that isn't relevant about subjects that don't matter to people who aren't interested.

— Sir Humphrey Appleby (@YesSirHumphrey) October 2, 2020

Election day

It’s Election Day.

The law that all electioneering must stop at midnight yesterday may seem silly when we’ve been able to vote for a couple of weeks, but it is the law.

That means no comments on New Zealand politics are permitted until 7pm when polling booths close.

Counting of early votes starts before booths close so results should be earlyier than in the past when there were much fewer early votes and counting didn’t start until 7pm.

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.

Elections belong to the people. It’s their decision. It they decide to turn their backs on the fire and burn their behinds, they will just have to sit on their blisters. – Abraham Lincoln