Māori farmers upset at proposal – Peter Burke :
In an unusual move, the Māori Trustee and chief executive of Te Tumu Paeroa Dr Charlotte Severne says she’ll be making a submission on the Government’s agricultural emissions proposals.
Severne administers as trustee or agent for approximately 1,800 Māori Land Trusts and other Māori entities. This is about one third of all Māori Land Trusts. Te Tumu Paeroa is therefore effectively a major Māori land owner.
Speaking exclusively to Rural News at the recent Ahuwhenua Trophy Awards she noted that the pressures on the sheep and beef sector now are real and she wants to see the rapid development of good well-qualified leaders. Severne is concerned about the way Māori are treated by some government departments.
“I believe that big parts of government don’t understand Māori land. They think we are group of farms that are doing really well, whereas – in fact – most Māori land is on a lease portfolio and in small parcels,” she told Rural News. . .
Put a cap on unworkable emissions plan – Malcolm Bailey:
The HWEN furore shows neither the government nor the industry has the answer, says Malcolm Bailey.
Openly opposed by industry as well as the political opposition, the government’s emissions pricing proposal looks dead in the water and should be scuttled. Perhaps the government has done us a favour by amplifying the weaknesses of the levy approach and the stupidity of cutting New Zealand’s world-leading low emissions production.
Both He Waka Eke Noa (HWEN) and the government proposal should go to the bottom and make way for a new solution that follows key principles, uses market solutions, and works.
What has also been exposed is that HWEN was never a genuine partnership.
The government has come up with new impact modelling and rejection of the emissions leakage risk with no link to earlier work or credibility. . .
An unpopular move whatever your position – Alan Emmerson :
Feds-commissioned research uncovers some surprises on attitudes to the farm tax.
To state my position: I accept the climate is changing and we need to do something about it. I believe much of the science we get quoted is dodgy and I don’t believe New Zealand should be leading the world on anything. We’re a small insignificant country in the South Pacific.
I further accept that 19 out of 20 of our politicians wouldn’t know a cart from a horse and that 99% of our civil servants are woefully ignorant of the practicalities of life on the farm.
When it comes to our emissions, I do not accept that markets will open if we reduce them and have seen zero evidence to back that up. With floods, drought, pestilence and the war in Ukraine, food will be at a premium and I don’t believe we’re making enough of our grass-fed status, let alone anything else.
In addition, the majority of Kiwis support farmers’ current practices as evidenced in a recent poll by Federated Farmers. . .
Alliance chief executive resigns – Sally Rae:
Alliance Group chief executive David Surveyor has resigned from the co-operative after nearly eight years in the role.
The company announced yesterday that Mr Surveyor would leave by the end of April next year to return home to Australia and the board would begin the search for his replacement.
In a statement, chairman Murray Taggart said he had “regrettably” accepted Mr Surveyor’s resignation.
However, the board understood his desire to pursue other opportunities. . .
The worst is still to come – Peter Burke :
Driving from home base in the Horowhenua through Hawke’s Bay and up the East Coast, it’s pretty evident that feed for cows is in short supply and that ground is still wet.
There are large puddles in many paddocks and there is little evidence of grass silage being made. On last week’s trip to Napier I saw only two farms where silage was being cut and, in both instances, the amount of grass that had been cut was pretty meagre compared to previous seasons when one would have seen a hive of activity, cutting and bailing grass silage.
The word from farm consultants is that silage production is significantly below what is normal for this time of the year and that this and the planting of crops is at least a month behind normal. To add to the problem, the view is the grass is ‘gutless’ and of poor quality because of the lack of sunshine and the continuous rain. One farmer told me that he couldn’t remember a week when it hadn’t rained.
For dairy farmers this is the ‘money time’ – when production is supposed to be at its peak – but it isn’t and the number being quoted is that milk production will be down by 4% on last season which itself was not a good season. . .
Innovation will help farmers feed a world of 8 billion and counting – Gurjeet Singh Mann :
You can mark the date on your calendar: On November 15, 2022, a mother will give birth to a baby who is the world’s 8 billionth person.
This milestone in human history comes to us from an estimate by demographers at the United Nations.
They also predict that next year, my country of India will pass China as the planet’s most populous nation, with about 1.4 billion people.
This means the expanding population will need much more food than we ever had before. If we’re going to feed them, we need another Green Revolution and a lot more for India as well as for the rest of the world. Farmers must enjoy access to the full power of modern technology so that we can do our part to meet the necessities of life. . .
Homepaddock 