Word of the day

Psephologist  – one who studies elections and voting trends.

Thatcher thinks

Never have our basic values, the Christian values which rest on Hebrew and Hellenic foundations, been so menaced as they are today. Family life, the innocence of children, public decency, respect for the law, pride in good work, patriotism, democracy – all are under attack. pic.twitter.com/xh5lHXZMR9

— Margaret Thatcher (@MrsMThatcher) October 29, 2023

Rural roundup

Freshwater policy change expected – Shawn McAvinue :

DairyNZ principal regional policy adviser David Cooper, of Dunedin, talks to Shawn McAvinue about a national policy statement on freshwater management for Otago Regional Council to develop a land and water plan for the region.

Q. Are these proposed rules something the new government could put on the policy bonfire?

That’s the tricky part. Some changes might be made by the three parties who are having conversations around how to form a government. They’ve all said they want to see some changes made but we are not sure on the detail and I certainly think some farmers will think it will be scrapped entirely, but that’s not likely to be the case, so at present we have to play the cards we are dealt and work within the existing framework.

Q. In a nutshell, is the plan proposing to make farmers gain a discretionary consent to run more than 2.5 cows per hectare and apply more than 100kg of nitrogen per hectare?

Any activity that can take place on land that is going to have an impact on freshwater is trying to be addressed in the plan — it’s more than that consenting framework, it’s a whole range of activities from offal pits to silage pits and farm waste and land-use change and all that sort of thing. . .

Keen anticipation in new Agriculture Minister – Point of Order :

As  the  country  awaits the new government taking shape, there is  keen anticipation in  rural  regions over the arrival of  a new Minister of Agriculture. Under  the outgoing government,  farmers learnt the  hard lessons  their industries only received sporadic attention, and  then it was often inherently contradictory and certainly not as encouraging  as  it should have been for some of the country’s primary export earners.

Disillusion  with  the outgoing  government led to rural electorates which had deserted  National in 2020  returning to the fold and the  new MPs  include  some well equipped  for  the job but it is expected  an experienced  politician — Todd McClay was  the spokesman in the run-up to the election— will be named to  the portfolio.

If McClay is  wanted for another  role  such  as Trade,   then Nicola Grigg  might be offered  Agriculture.  She  is now in her second term  and  impressed onlookers in her  maiden term.

The issue of who holds the Agriculture portfolio  may be complicated if the ACT  party   seeks to push one of its new MPs, Andrew Hoggard, a former president  of Federated Farmers, into the role.  However it is more  likely because  of his inexperience in politics he might be offered a role as  an Associate Minister or  Under-Secretary. . .

4 half ploughed paddocks here ATM. Why?Paddock selection based on slope left till the last minute due to the election 😅, and soil testing not done 😬. Can crack on and finish each paddock from now though. Grass covers are 👌 pic.twitter.com/mvj0AzSQUb

— Ben Dooley 🧢 (@BenDooley8) November 1, 2023

One billion fruit picked robotically a major milestone :

Global Pac Technologies, a New Zealand-based company, started marketing the Aporo produce packing robot in 2018 on behalf of New Zealand inventor and manufacturer Robotics Plus Limited and have just hit a major milestone, having packed one billion pieces of fruit.

The Aporo produce packer is a market leader in loose fruit packing automation globally and its ground-breaking technology continues to evolve, bringing with it accuracy and speed. Aporo is now active in eight countries around the world, robotically packing apples and stonefruit with more fruit types coming online soon.

Cameron McInness, Sales Director at Global Pac says the milestone is a testament to partnership and collaboration.

“This significant milestone points clearly to collaboration between designers, our leading post-harvest automation supply partners, and end users resulting in true industry change and transformation to a typically highly labour dependant part of the packhouse” . . .

Fonterra and Nestlé’ complete sale of DPA Brazil :

Fonterra Co-operative Group Ltd can today confirm that the sale of Fonterra and Nestlé’s Dairy Partners Americas (DPA) Brazil joint venture* (JV) to French dairy company Lactalis is complete.

Fonterra CEO Miles Hurrell says when the Co-op announced the sale in December 2022, it noted the sale was subject to regulatory approvals. These approvals have now been received.

“With our decision to focus on our New Zealand milk pool, the sale of DPA Brazil means we can prioritise our resources to the businesses that are core to our strategy,” says Mr Hurrell.

Fonterra and Nestlé sold the JV for BRL 700 million, which is approximately NZD 240 million at current exchange rates. These proceeds offset debt related to that business, which means there will be little cash impact on Fonterra’s earnings. . .

A double rainbow between showers. Looks like the Polaris is the pot of gold. 👀 pic.twitter.com/GkyvbYLMo4

— Rhian Jones (@Rhiani) November 1, 2023

Farmlands joins forces with Farmstrong for Christmas charity fundraiser :

Farmlands is partnering with nationwide rural wellbeing programme Farmstrong for the co-op’s annual Tag Your Charity fundraiser which kicks off on 1 November and runs until Christmas.

Each year Farmlands selects a national partner, and its store teams choose a local charity for customers to donate to when they shop instore. Last year Farmlands raised $129,000, shared with the national partner and local charities involved – including $50,000 of funds donated by Farmlands to kick things off on behalf of their team.

Farmstrong aligns with Farmlands’ focus on mental wellbeing and resilience. Farmstrong works to promote mental health within farming communities across Aotearoa New Zealand, helping farmers, growers and their families to cope with the stresses of farming and growing by sharing things they can do to look after themselves and the people in their business.

Tanya Houghton, Farmlands CEO, is acutely aware of the need to look after mental health after visiting rural regions devastated by Cyclone Gabrielle in February of this year. “I saw first-hand the toll that the cyclone and its aftermath had on our farmers and growers. We were able to provide some practical support through our Post Your Support fundraising campaign, we also want to do as much as we can to help develop the skills and resilience needed to cope into the future.” . . .

Gearing up for freshwater farm plans :

Ravensdown is preparing to hit the ground running in 2024 to support farmers as they tackle Freshwater Farm Plans (FWFPs).

Already qualified and experienced in Farm Environment Planning, a specialist team from Ravensdown recently conducted national training with Pāmu staff at the company’s Bell Hill Farm on the West Coast.

The team undertook exercises focused on risk identification and mitigation designed to develop the skills required to prepare and certify FWFPs.

Arron Hutton, Environmental Consultancy Manager at Ravensdown, said the team have already begun working with farmers in Southland, but there’s lots to be done to help around 34,000 Kiwi farms comply with the new regulations by the end of 2025. . . .

Olive & Mabel trick or treat

I’m three days late for Halloween, a celebration in which I have no interest, but I thought the message in this was worth sharing:

And I can’t resist these two dogs.

A UN sick joke?

This ought to be a sick joke:

🚨 TODAY Iran became Chair of the U.N. Human Rights Council Social Forum.

Let that sink in.
pic.twitter.com/3BsX0lFexU

— Avi Yemini (@OzraeliAvi) November 2, 2023

It isn’t.

Iran, a country with a government that demonstrates little if any respect for human rights, is now chair of the UN’s Human Rights Council.

This is the country which backs Hamas, arrests and beats, and kills, women for failing to wear a hijab, executes protesters and hangs gay people.

If the UN thinks that’s okay, what’s the point of its Human Rights Council?

Disdain for democracy

This is a completely inappropriate and irresponsible response to a council decision:

Former MP Tau Henare has vowed retribution against councillors who voted against Māori seats on Auckland Council last Thursday.

Following the vote, the deputy chair of the Independent Māori Statutory Board (IMSB) tweeted he would vote no and oppose everything put forward by the 11 councillors who voted against Māori seats at the 2025 local body elections.

The board has nine members, appointed by a selection process overseen by mana whenua, who each sit on council committees with voting rights but not on the main governing body. . . 

There’s more than a little irony in someone appointed having such an extreme reaction to a decision by those elected democratically.

Today, Henare told the Herald he was flabbergasted at the 11-9 vote not to establish one, two or three Māori seats on the country’s largest council and would “pretty much” vote against anything put forward by the 11 councillors on the planning and council-controlled organisations (CCO) committees.

This shows a despicable disdain for democracy.

There are far more appropriate and reasonable responses to decisions made by councillors.

There is also a far better ways to get Maori representation on councils and that’s by nominating them to stand at elections and helping them campaign to get elected.