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TO ALL FARMERS, FOR ALL FARMERS JANUARY 26, 2021: ISSUE 718
www.ruralnews.co.nz
Hort sector denied! PETER BURKE peterb@ruralnews.co.nz
MPI HAS turned down a request from the horticulture sector to declare the recent hail and rainstorms, that decimated many orchards around the country and cost growers millions of dollars in lost income, as an
‘adverse event’. HortNZ chairman Barry O’Neil told Rural News that his organisation had written to Agriculture Minister Damien O’Connor asking him to declare the storms an ‘adverse event’. However, HortNZ was told by MPI (Ministry for Primary Industries) that the classification of a medium scale
adverse event is not required. But O’Neill says HortNZ, Apples and Pears NZ and the Kiwifruit Growers organisation have again written to O’Connor, Finance Minister Grant Robertson and Stuart Nash, (who holds the economic development portfolio) asking them to reconsider the earlier decision.
MPI told Rural News that declaring an adverse event would not mean there would be any direct funding for affected growers and that all it would do is free up more funding for the Rural Support Trust (RST). This funding would help growers clean up orchards and assist them work out future options but does not
A taste of the country DAIRY CONVERSION has taken on a whole new meaning for Otaki dairy farmers Stacy and Andrew Faith. The Faiths have converted an old, disused dairy shed on their property to an Airbnb, giving town folk a hands-on insight into country living. The old dairy shed on their property dates back to the 1950s when Andrew’s father used to milk about 60 cows in what was a walkthrough shed, where about five cows could be milked at a time using machines. From the outside, it still looks like a dairy shed and even inside it is dairy farm themed with bar stools made from old tractor seats, towel rails made from disused parts of a water trough. Meanwhile, from the kitchen and lounge guests can see the cows pass by each morning on their way to be milked and they can also go to the milking shed and help with the morning. Those staying at the shed get a real taste of country with milk, eggs and bacon all from the farm. See full story, page 15
compensate them for the loss of their crops. MPI says funding is already available, but if the situation changes, then more would be made available to the RST. O’Neil says he’s heard reports of cherry growers losing 80% or more of their crop, apple orchards devastated and that more than 2 million trays of kiwifruit have been lost. He says crops are being grown in areas that are challenging with the changing climate. O’Neil says hail is not uncommon, but this time, more regions appear to have been hit than normal and it’s hard to mitigate that. “Covered crop growing is very acceptable if it’s affordable for the individual grower. But even some of those covered structures have been damaged by the hail, so it’s not absolutely bullet proof,” he told Rural News. “I think the insurance companies will become more risk adverse unfortunately and premiums will go up. Unless growers do everything they can do to minimise the impacts – such as covering their crops – I think it’s going to be very difficult in future to get reasonably priced insurance.” O’Neil believes that this latest event will encourage more orchardists to cover their crops despite the capital cost. He also points out that some of the hail and rain was very localised. “A few years ago, my kiwifruit orchard at Kerikeri got hit by hail and I lost about 27% of my crop. My TO PAGE 3
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