The work of B+LNZ and the other levy bodies has been hotly debated.
Many farmers feel they’re not standing up to the Government enough to soften the regulatory blows.
Some believe they should all be merged so farmers can speak with one voice.
Ask a city-dweller and they’ll say the industry bodies are simply fighting for the past and it’s time for New Zealand’s primary industries to embrace the sustainable future.
It’s a tightrope that’s proving difficult to balance on.
But let’s remember that as it stands, the industry has negotiated changes to freshwater reforms and more time to plot its own path to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
B+LNZ says it’s committed to breaking down any perceived or real silos within the industry-good organisations.
Farmers will, in the end, just want to know their levies are being put to good use.
Bryan Gibson
Sheep levy increase proposed
Sheep farmers will be asked to pay an extra 5 cents a head from October 1 under proposed new Beef + Lamb NZ (B+LNZ) levies, although the beef levy will remain the same.
Deer farmers’ efforts rewarded
Hawke’s Bay deer farmers Grant and Sally Charteris are keen to showcase sustainable deer farming in the best of modern farming practices.
SFF reflects on Shanghai Maling partnership
Five years after China’s Shanghai Maling invested $267 million buying half of Silver Fern Farms (SFF), the meat company has recorded back-to-back record profits, but that is not the only benefit.
Much to gain with battery-powered on-farm energy
Advances in battery technology and significant drops in their cost means more farmers can opt to go off the grid to source their farm’s energy supply, and even position themselves to become micro-power generators during their farm’s off-peak periods.
Pine seedlings prove profitable
Five thousand New Zealand small shareholders in ArborGen Holdings can now see some potential return for their perseverance through a decade of research and development expenditure and low share prices.
