NEWS
ANIMAL HEALTH
The unforgettable republic.
His bark could be worse than his bite. PAGE 24
PAGE 10-11
RURAL SHOWCASE Can GPS help cut fuel bills? PAGE 36
TO ALL FARMERS, FOR ALL FARMERS JUNE 7, 2022: ISSUE 752
www.ruralnews.co.nz
Farmers must adapt! PETER BURKE peterb@ruralnews.co.nz
JOHN ROCHE, chief science advisor at the Ministry for Primary Industries (MPI), reckons despite all the local and international challenges facing the New Zealand farming sector, it has a lot of positives going for it. He says NZ has a really strong and proud history of collaboration between farmers and scientists and that has served us extremely well. He concedes there are challenges around climate but thinks our innovation will see us through that. Roche acknowledges the effects of climate change around the country, such as droughts in the Waikato and Southland and heavy rain on the east and west coasts of the country. He says in the Waikato the soil is fertile and warm and with rain the landscape will look very different in
a months’ time. “I don’t want to play that down it is a challenge. These episodic rainfall events do seem to be coming more frequently,” he told Rural News. “One swallow doesn’t make a summer, but we have had more than one swallow in the last 12 months alone.” Roche says the country’s farmers and orchardists will have to adapt. He explains this will involve looking at their system – specifically at those points at which the climate puts pressure on the operation – and then seeing how that can be managed.
For some, that might mean de-intensification and for others it may mean having a feed supply available when they didn’t in the past. Roche says farmers worldwide are learning to adapt to similar situations and adjust their farming systems accordingly. He says farmers are smart enough to work out the best solution for their individual enterprises. Roche says he’s interacted with farmers a lot and believes they want to address environmental issues but they also want solutions. He claims the recent budget announcement to spend $339 million
to set up a new government-funded organisation in partnership with industry to fast track solutions that farmers can use to deal with climate change emissions is a great idea. Roche says climate change is real and claims that NZ’s average rainfall has dropped by an average of 10% over the past 25 years, and in some areas – such as Northland – it’s dropped by as much as 20%. “Change is needed but as one farming leader told me, ‘panic slowly’. This is not a time to run off and sell the dairy farm tomorrow,” Roche told Rural News.
A beer well-earned Angus breeder Mike Smith (left) from Wakatipu Basin, near Queenstown, enjoys a celebratory beer with Andy, Liz and Campbell Denham at the conclusion of his Kincardine Angus on-farm sale on May 25. Smith had plenty to celebrate after a bull topped the sale selling for $81,000. In total, Kincardine Angus sold 14 bulls on the day at an average of $14,585. The top priced bull was bought by the Giddings family’s Meadowslea Genetics at Fairlie, who bought it via an online bid, and is – so far – the top price of the bull sale season. See more page 8
RURAL HEALTH U-TURN HEALTH MINISTER Andrew Little has done an about turn and agreed to having a separate, legally-binding rural health strategy in the Pae Ora Health Futures legislation, which comes into effect in July. Initially, a special strategy for rural was in the bill – along with strategies for Maori, Pacifica, women and people with disabilities. However, rural was taken out by the Labour Party majority on the select committee. This led to a chorus of criticism to Labour’s health reforms and the fact that ‘rural’ was not seen as a priority. Critics said the new structure that is supposed to deliver better health outcomes for NZ wouldn’t do this for people who live i rural regions. Chair of the Rural General Practice Network, Dr Fiona Bolden strongly criticised the omission of ‘rural’ saying it was outrageous and left 750,000 people enrolled in rural practices out in the wilderness. National’s health spokesperson, Dr Shane Reiti opposed the move, as did Act’s Brooke van Velden who proposed an amendment to the bill calling for the rural health strategy to be reinstated in the bill. Little has now effectively rejected his own party’s recommendations from the select committee and is now claiming Labour’s ‘rural caucus’ convinced him to change his mind.
Swiss precision. Made to last. FELCO 211 LOPPERS
NEW
FELCO POWER TOOLS
The perfect balance of power and manoeuvrability.
Power through even the biggest jobs with ease.
The FELCO 211 range feature lightweight aluminium handles for comfortable cutting and curved cutting heads to pull in and easily slice through branches.
Designed to act as an extension of your body, the new FELCO Power Blade series feature lightweight, ergonomic handles for comfortable pruning all day long.
Available at your local FELCO Stockist. Heiniger is the exclusive FELCO distributor and authorised service centre in NZ - contact us to find a FELCO dealer near you. (03) 349 8282
|
heiniger.co.nz