Federated Farmers Archive

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  Scientists respond to Feds’ claim that trout are cause of water decline - by Russel Norman

  
  
  
  Invasive trout blamed for poor water quality — are farmers off the hook? Press Release by Science Media Centre at  6:49 am, 05 Jul 2011 Scientists are questioning claims by a prominent dairy industry representative, suggesting trout are a ‘disastrous species’ — no better than ‘freshwater stoats’ — and that farmers have been unfairly blamed [...] read more
  July 5, 2011 6:45 pm - 10 Comments
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  Feds play games over Manawatu clean up - by frog

  
  
  
  So, 27 organisations in the Manawatu region including city & regional council, industrial players, iwi and environment groups have signed an historic agreement, committing to clean up the polluted Manawatu river. Great stuff. Only problem is, the farmers aren’t playing ball. read more
  August 10, 2010 11:51 am - 8 Comments
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  Rules for freshwater management? Never! - by frog

  
  
  
  Kiran Chug has a great story in this morning’s Dominion Post: the sorry tale of the proposed National Policy Statement on Freshwater management. Our rivers are getting dirtier and dirtier while this document languishes. A quick history: National policy statements are tools that can be developed under the Resource Management Act to guide local and [...] read more
  June 16, 2010 10:45 am - 11 Comments
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  Herd homes vs cubicles like home vs prison - by Jeanette Fitzsimons

  
  
  
  Have you ever felt that after a long day inside a building you just have to get out and feel the sun and breathe some air? I guess not being able to do that is one  of the punishments the prison system imposes on offenders. But even they get an hour or so out in [...] read more
  December 9, 2009 3:35 pm - 11 Comments
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  Feds miss the point in celebrating bees - by frog

  
  
  
  Federated Farmers this week celebrated the 150th anniversary of the introduction of bees to New Zealand. A fine occasion to mark, no doubt about it. But there is a distinct lack of ‘joined-up thinking’ in the Feds’ press release. Dr Linda Newstrom-Lloyd writes in the Feb 09 Discovery newsletter (p4-5, but not yet online) from Landcare Research that bees [...] read more
  March 21, 2009 12:59 pm - 23 Comments
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  Fed Farmers to oppose RMA Amendment Bill? - by frog

  
  
  
  I have just read a press release from Federated Farmers opposing the ”streamlining” of electricity projects.  They are worried that this will remove the right of farmers to negotiate with Transpower when their land is used for power pylons.   Ironically, Fed Farmers has been one of the key lobby groups advocating for ”stream-lining” of the RMA consenting process, [...] read more
  March 19, 2009 1:39 pm - 5 Comments
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  Lake Taupo Protection Trust cuts innovative deal to cut nitrogen - by frog

  
  
  
  It’s nice to have something good to blog about in the environmental arena for a change. The Lake Taupo Protection Trust was set up with the goal of protecting the taonga that is Taupo, with a primary goal reducing nitrogen inflows by 20% in 15 years. This has since involved purchasing properties to end the [...] read more
  February 18, 2009 8:28 am - 2 Comments
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  Fed Farmers call for a return to the rural gerrymander - by frog

  
  
  
  There is an interesting little debate going between Russel and the Federated Farmers on what the Feds are quaintly calling rural representation (page 22 of pdf): The Local Electoral Act 2001 has diminished rural representation, a particular concern when councils depend so heavily on rates based on property value. The Act requires strict adherence to a [...] read more
  November 5, 2008 4:49 pm - 22 Comments
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  Russel rattles another - by frog

  
  
  
   Yesterday Winston, unsurprisingly, made an ethnic and not so oblique reference to Australians, in response to Russel’s first question in the house.  Today it became clear that what parliament has acquired is not just an Australian, but a Little Aussie Battler who is going to stand up for ordinary kiwis.  Check out this exchange between [...] read more
  July 2, 2008 9:44 pm - 10 Comments
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  Goodbye Charlie Pedersen - by frog

  
  
  
  The Wellington ‘beltway’ will be a quieter place without Charlie Pedersen who leaves Federated Farmers presidency to be replaced by Southland sheep and beef farmer, Don Nicolson. In his parting shot yesterday Charlie gave a rambunctious speech, mostly focused on attacking the Resource Management Act. But some of what he says is right there on [...] read more
  June 26, 2008 11:20 am - 18 Comments
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  Opposing the common good - by frog

  
  
  
  Also giving his Federated Farmers AGM speech this morning was Keith Kelly, chair of the Meat and Fibre Section (in this bloggy context ‘fibre’ means wool rather than broadband): The biggest problem of all however, could be the emissions trading legislation already through the first stage of the select committee process. By my calculations this [...] read more
  June 24, 2008 1:32 pm - 17 Comments
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  Stolen water - by frog

  
  
  
  Frank Brenmuhl, chairperson of the Dairy Section of Federated Farmers, has just given his AGM speech in which he bemoans that attacks that he perceives dairy farmers face from the Greens and other environmentalists.  The basis of his defence is very Rousseau-ian: The physical resources that we use, to produce food is what we have [...] read more
  June 24, 2008 1:04 pm - 4 Comments
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  The farmers’ share - by frog

  
  
  
  Federated Farmers have just released an interesting report on the share of profit that farmers get from the retail price of food.  [T]he farm price for wheat in 2008 was 16 percent of the cost of a loaf of bread. Of a 20-slice loaf of bread the farm share accounted for around three slices. In [...] read more
  May 15, 2008 4:37 pm - 22 Comments
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  Debate at Fed Farmers on palm cake - by frog

  
  
  
  The Herald this morning has Andrew Gillanders, Federated Farmers grains and seeds chairman, criticising the practice of importing palm oil cakes as feed for dairy cows.  Gillander notes that the practice contributes to rainforest destruction and should be stopped: “We are importing a waste product created from the destruction of tropical rainforests.” Mr Gillanders said [...] read more
  May 5, 2008 10:08 am - 6 Comments
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  Agriculture Ministry fingered for pulling controversial chapter - by frog

  
  
  
  No Right Turn has unleashed the Official Information Act on the Ministry for the Environment to find out more about the controversially omitted Chapter 13 of the Environment 2007 Report.  No Right Turn’s conclusion; it was the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry that objected to the chapter. Apparently it as unhappy at the way farming [...] read more
  March 14, 2008 7:44 pm - 2 Comments
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  The growth of industrial dairy - by frog

  
  
  
  Another disgruntled Federated Farmer, Frank Brenmuhl, is unhappy that the Greens are not recognising the hard work the intensive dairy industry is already doing to clean up its act: Again dairy farmers through the environmental policies of DairyNZ are quietly working away in the background making incremental gains for all society and not making a [...] read more
  February 20, 2008 2:36 pm - 5 Comments
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  Dairy production - by frog

  
  
  
  Federated Farmers spokesperson Bruce McNab has a bit of a bee in his bonnet about the Greens call for changes to our industrial dairy industry. Today in the Independent Financial Review [offline] he says: The Greens, like many people, get on their soapbox and preach away but, other than reducing production, which is not in [...] read more
  February 20, 2008 11:11 am - 26 Comments
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  The mischievous chapter 13 - by frog

  
  
  
  Gordon Copeland has just accused the Greens of ‘mischief making‘ after they revealed the existence of a suppressed summary chapter to the Ministry for the Environment’s ‘State of the Environment’ report, released two weeks ago.  The Greens had been arguing that the Report’s summary, with its important policy implications, should have been included.Copeland, who apparently [...] read more
  February 11, 2008 3:27 pm - 4 Comments
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  Russel’s reponse to the State of the Environment Report - by frog

  
  
  
  From his media release this afternoon: “Not only [has the Government] failed to solve the problems threatening New Zealand’s biodiversity which were the key problems identified in the 1997 report, we now have the addition of major problems of environmental degradation caused by land use intensification and increased roading transport, which are also driving water [...] read more
  January 31, 2008 5:04 pm - 3 Comments