Brosnahan a staunch advocate for agriculture – Neal Wallace :
The agricultural sector has lost a staunch advocate with the passing this week of long-serving journalist, Terry Brosnahan.
A journalist for 33 years, Terry edited the Country-Wide magazine from 2009 to 2023 when it was bought by new owners.
Raised on a farm near Timaru, Terry initially intended becoming a farmer and studied at Lincoln University.
On returning home in the 1980s having lived overseas, he realised farm ownership was not attainable, so studied journalism at Aoraki Polytechnic under tutor Dale McCord. . .
Time to grasp the agri-food nettle (genetically modified or not) – Katie Henderson :
Genetic technologies offer promising solutions to New Zealand’s agricultural challenges, but do they align with our national brand? With the Government’s proposal for dedicated legislation on genetic technology looming, what implications does this hold?
Globally, scientists have been calling for society to consider the more widespread use of genetic technologies in agriculture to combat challenges such as climate change. They argue that this approach could play a role in securing better access to nutritious foods without exacerbating environmental damage. These calls are pertinent, considering 130 world leaders recently endorsed the COP28 declaration on sustainable food and agriculture.
But should genetic technologies be part of the solution to develop more sustainable food? Ever since genetic modification and, more recently, gene editing technologies were introduced, they have been the subject of intense debate. With gene editing, DNA can be cut and modified at specific locations much more efficiently than genetic modification. Producing organisms without any foreign DNA is also possible.
Some 30 countries worldwide grow GM crops, but it is also prohibited in dozens of countries, including in New Zealand, and several countries have recently excluded some gene-editing techniques from their GM policies. New Zealand has not yet taken this step, and in 2016, the Government clarified GMO regulations indicating its decision was based on market perceptions considering our status as an exporter of billions of dollars’ worth of food products. . .
Federated Farmers back fast-track consents – Mark Hooper :
A water storage scheme in Kaikohe, a green hydrogen project in Taranaki, a solar farm in Rangiriri, a new hospital in Dunedin, a railway station in Drury, and the replacement of sewer pipes in Porirua.
All these projects have received a so-called Resource Management Act ‘fast-track’ under a mechanism introduced in 2020 to cut through red tape and actually make stuff happen.
Activist groups like Greenpeace and the Environmental Defence Society call it “an assault on our natural world” or “a dark day for nature” – but do people really care what they think?
Most reasonable Kiwis would agree that all of these projects have made our country a better place to live from an environmental, social, and economic point of view. . .
Red meat farmers welcome suspension of SNAs – Sudesh Kissun :
Beef + Lamb New Zealand (B+LNZ) has welcomed the Government’s announcement it is suspending the requirement for councils to comply with the Significant Natural Areas (SNAs) provisions of the National Policy Statement for Indigenous Biodiversity for three years while it replaces the Resource Management Act (RMA).
B+LNZ chair Kate Acland said this announcement will be applauded by sheep and beef farmers.
“Our farmers are doing it tough now – this week we released our mid-season update showing the widespread cash losses our sector is facing this financial year.
“Concern about the expense and workability of the previous Government’s environmental reform agenda is affecting farmer confidence, so any move to address some of the particularly flawed rules is very welcome. . .
The A2 milk journey is just beginning – Keith Woodford :
I have been involved with the A2 milk journey since 2004 when I first started writing about A1 and A2 beta-casein. Then in 2007 I wrote the book ‘Devil in the Milk’ about A1 and A2 beta-casein and the associated milk politics. That caused quite some controversy. An American edition followed in 2009, then a New Zealand update was published in 2010, and then in 2018 there was a Russian language edition. There were also requests more recently for an edition in other languages, but I turned those down because I knew that a totally new version was required to bring things up to date.
I had planned for that to be written in 2023, but my own health issues got in the way and it is still sitting on the back burner. Time will tell.
In the meantime, my recent article on Synlait and its problems, including the disagreements between Synlait and The a2 Milk Company, has led to email correspondence with readers asking: what is happening within the overarching A2 milk category? It seems to have gone quiet, they say. . .
Young family turns table grape property into watermelon farm in Far West New South Wales – Lilly McCure :
It was a “vision” that prompted watermelon farmers Nick and Lou Gebert to buy an old table grape growing property near the outback town of Menindee in Far West New South Wales.
The family, who already ran a watermelon farm in the Western Murray region of Wentworth, purchased the 1,619-hectare former table grape property in 2021 with an idea to turn 113 hectares into watermelon crops.
“I had a suspicion it was going to be quite good for watermelon,” Mr Gebert said.
“We had a vision, and it’s come through for us,” he said. . .
Homepaddock 