MANAGEMENT
MACHINERY & PRODUCTS
NEWS
Family affair for stockmen at Affco Horotiu. PAGE 33
European tour shows Kiwis the machinery future. PAGE 41
Global demand for butter ‘going through the roof’ PAGE 23
TO ALL FARMERS, FOR ALL FARMERS AUGUST 22, 2017: ISSUE 636
www.ruralnews.co.nz
Let’s not do this! NIGEL MALTHUS
THE GOOD work farmers are already doing to minimise the environmental impact of irrigation could stop if they had to pay water royalties, says Irrigation New Zealand chair Nicky Hyslop. INZ says it had good discussions with the Labour Party in the past, making sure they had good information, said Hyslop, but is now “very concerned” about their recently announced water royalty policy.
Labour has referred to collecting funds to address water quality issues in the regions, but the most impact to be made in water quality improvement is onfarm, Hyslop claims. “Making changes on farm – potentially changing management in farming systems – [would] ensure we are farming well within nutrient limits, investing in new technology on farm, upgrading irrigation systems and have better decision support systems in place.”
Hyslop says with Labour’s water tax in place farmers would not be able to keep doing that; they’ve spent about $600 million on this since 2011. “We need to be able to continue to do so, but we will not be able to if we have a water royalty.” Hylsop says it will be farmers rather than regional councils who make the difference in cleaning up water. She adds there are also questions about what councils are doing in cities and towns.
Growers feel the squeeze VEGETABLE FARMERS in Pukekhoe, south of Auckland, are facing a double whammy: Auckland’s urban sprawl is poaching fertile soils for housing subdivisions and farms which cross the boundary into Waikato must contend with Waikato Regional Council’s Healthy Rivers plan. With access to fertile land and irrigated water under threat, the Pukekohe Vegetable Growers Association is working with councils on saving their businesses. Association president and A. S. Wilcox general manager Brent Wilcox says these are uncertain times for growers. Pukekohe’s frost-free and fertile soils are ideal for growing vegetables and root crops; turning them into residential plots would be a waste. – More page 4
“We’re all in this together, but a water tax in my mind is not an effective or efficient way of achieving the overall objective.” Hyslop and her husband farm a 200ha mixed sheep, beef and cropping property at Levels, near Timaru, irrigated through the Opuha scheme. Labour originally gave no figures, but later suggested a royalty of 2 cents per 1000 litres of irrigation water used. “For a farm like ours, a 200ha TO PAGE 3
FED’S GIRL POWER HALVES FEDERATED FARMERS national board’s woman membership has halved with the sudden resignation of one of them. New board member Lynda Murchison has quit less than two months after she was elected and before the new board has met for the first time. She confirmed to Rural News’ sister publication Dairy News, last week, that her reason for quitting was because no one had been prepared to take on her previous role of provincial president for North Canterbury. She will now resume that role. Murchison was seen as a great asset to the board, especially given her professional role as a planner. She has worked in resource management in Canterbury for 20 years, for district councils, the regional council and Ngai Tahu, and has run her own environmental planning consultancy. She also played a major role in dealing with the effects on farmers of the Kaikoura earthquake and the drought in North Canterbury. No decision on a replacement will be made until the Federation’s national council meets in November. Feds’ sole remaining woman national board member is president Katie Milne who was elected to this role in July along with newcomers Murchison, Chris Lewis and Miles Anderson. Andrew Hoggard and Guy Wigley are also on the board.
WHEN YOUR ADVICE IS REALLY GOOD, EVERYONE LISTENS. At FMG, we look after more rural New Zealanders than any other insurer. In fact, it’s something we’ve been doing for over 110 years now. So when it comes to offering specialist advice, like managing fire hazards on the farm, we like to think we know what we’re talking about. Ask around about us. Or better still call us directly on 0800 366 466.
We’re here for the good of the country. FMG0550RNQP