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Trade rules for agriculture are fair for all
For New Zealand as a small and remote nation, international engagement and trade are major priorities. We are committed to being at the forefront of global efforts to improve the global trading system...
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A damn load of emotional effluent
The Ruataniwha water storage scheme saga has gone far beyond soap opera territory: fantasy has long since replaced fact, the noisy quashing any sense. Here are some examples. Serial anti-RWSS crusader...
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How credible?
The Hound notes that Ross Hyland, the former ‘advisor’ of failed meat lobby group MIE, popped up again in the media to criticise the confirmed SFF/Shanghai Maling merger. The former seed salesman, who...
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Why?
This old mutt wonders just how long Massey University can credibly claim to be a pre-eminent learning institution for future agriculture when one of its high-profile academics reckons there is no...
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Strewth!
Your old mate had to giggle at a recent story about a vegan video blogger (Vlogger) who got all teary at the sight of sheep being shipped across Cook Strait. Apparently this vegan travel blogger (pity...
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Reality-free
Your canine crusader thinks Fed head William Rolleston comes across at times as a bit too nice – perhaps because of all the fancy schools he went to. However, your old mate was pleased to see recently...
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Exports rely on freedom to move
The key to successfully selling fruit and vegetables in New Zealand or overseas is to give consumers what they want. In our growing Asian markets, consumers respond to healthy eating, to delicious,...
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New councillors’ assurances ring hollow
From freshly elected city, town and country leaders, words and phrases such as ‘rebuilding trust’ and ‘increased involvement of the community’ have been heard sounding -- again. The idea, we are told,...
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Good growth gives new season kick-start
Despite wet weather in many regions, the outlook is encouraging and we are seeing plenty of good growth around the country as rural contractors start cranking up for their busy season. Where I am based...
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Wellington’s vulnerability
I have lived in and around Wellington all my life and I have never experienced an earthquake as big and as frightening as this latest one. But interestingly some things haven’t changed. Once again the...
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Implications of Wellington port damage
Heaven forbid what would have happened to people working in buildings at the Wellington Port. One senses that there is an attempt to talk down the seriousness of the problem by some people in authority...
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Yawn
British singer Morrissey has taken aim at Australia’s Deputy Prime Minister and Agriculture Minister Barnaby Joyce, in a strongly worded letter calling for an end to live animal exports. The vegan...
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Ruth bites back
Your old mate notes that former Finance Minister and creator of the infamous ‘mother of all budgets’, Ruth Richardson, though she has been out of the politics for a while seems to have lost none of her...
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Weldon bombs – again
This old mate notes that stock exchange owner NZX is exiting its much-hyped and clearly unsuccessful involvement in agri-publishing faster than its shiny-shoe owners flick a bad share punt. It seems...
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Aiming for better public science understanding
Interactions between agriculture and the environment have rarely been so much in the face of the public, and finding a path for the future is proving challenging. Should New Zealand remain GE-free, ban...
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No, thanks!
Should The Hound ever be passing through Blenheim and needs a place to doss for the night he now knows where not to stay: with the local ‘clairvoyant’ Rebecca O’Sullivan, who offers accommodation via...
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Tough at the top
Your old mate wishes to express his thoughts and sympathies to the good people of Kaikoura, North Canterbury and Wellington who have endured the recent earthquakes and are now in the process of...
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Tax dodgers
This old mutt notes the flurry of calls from lefty luvvies for Destiny Church to be stripped of its tax-free status. The calls come after its leader, the self-proclaimed bishop Brian Tamaki, in a...
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Double Dutch
Your canine crusader sees that former Fonterra chairman Henry van der Heyden has not retired back to the farm since giving up the top job at the dairy co-op a few years back. He recently picked up the...
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A little common sense will go a long way for Civil Defence — Editorial
Our thoughts and best wishes go out to the people in Marlborough and North Canterbury after the series of earthquake that have hit those regions recently. We hope all affected – especially farming and...
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Will the crabs scatter or cozy up?
The voters have spoken – twice! Political upheaval in Europe and the US has made the world a much more complicated place to do business. The UK’s decision to leave Europe and the election of Donald...
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You might be on holiday, but tax isn’t
Inland Revenue (IRD) is not one for acknowledging the holiday season. The department’s making many businesses pay an instalment of provisional tax on January 15 can be galling. What’s more, as well as...
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Diddums
Your old mate notes that a bunch of Pommy vegans and vegetarians are ‘outraged’ that Britain’s new £5 notes contain tallow, a substance made from animal fat and often used in soap and candles. This...
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Greenwash
The Hound understands that despite the Green Party’s staunch policy of carping constantly about dairy farms polluting waterways, etc, it is not above accepting donations from such polluters. Inside...
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Whining Winny
This old mutt has little time for career politician and serial taxpayer beneficiary Winston Peters who, despite sitting in Parliament since the 1970s, has achieved bugger-all except fatten his wallet...
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Where'd they go?
Your canine crusader is looking high and low for the doom merchants in the political and economic commentariat who earlier this year were talking up doom-and-gloom in the dairy sector and the end of...
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Massey chancellor resignation outrageous! — Editorial
Why are people so easily outraged and offended these days? Someone says or does something we don’t like, and people immediately take to their ubiquitous social media accounts, blog forums or comment...
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Emission reductions will have costs
News last month that hill country greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions are lower than previously estimated is ‘interesting’. Although farm animals aren’t included in New Zealand’s Emissions Trading Scheme...
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Emission reductions will have costs
News recently that hill country greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions are lower than previously estimated is ‘interesting’. Although farm animals aren’t included in New Zealand’s Emissions Trading Scheme (no...
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Prepare for change — Editorial
The world changed, for better or worse, with the inauguration of Donald Trump as US President. While many argue the merits of Trump’s policies and even take to the streets to oppose them, the main...
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Defining ‘sustainable’ really important
Industry giant Unilever has reported that one in five (21%) consumers “would choose a brand based on the belief that it was produced sustainably”. Even more important to a business is the suggestion...
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Wah wah
Your old mate notes the part-time Member of Parliament for North Korea – sorry, Northland -- Winston Peters, has got his knickers in a knot... He is upset over his no-show on the farm in his electorate...
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Wrong s#$t!
The Hound sees that the inquiry into the contamination of Havelock North’s water supply has been told that sheep – not cow – faeces was probably the cause of it. The government-ordered inquiry into...
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Forget all the negativity; communicate the positives!
Sheep and beef farmers are facing testing times and many of the challenges are outside their control. For many of us, our resilience will be tested and our ability to support each other and communicate...
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Water options set to be popular
Water, soil monitoring, irrigation and weather systems will be hot topics at this year’s East Coast Farming Expo, as the region battles the effects of another summer drought. The two-day expo, on April...
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No surprises
A report by German magazine Bild says 92% of left-wing activists in Berlin, Germany, live with their parents, while one in three are unemployed. The magazine’s data was based on 873 political...
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Clear agenda
The Hound hears that the recent Beef + Lamb NZ environmental workshop in Wellington provided a platform for a couple of anti-farming activists to polish their rants. According to your old mate’s...
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Good work!
Your canine crusader notes that MPI biosecurity staff have been busy intercepting risky goods ranging from the bizarre to the potentially devastating for New Zealand’s economy and environment over the...
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Honest adverts
The Hound had a good giggle at the direct approach taken by a South Canterbury farmer in an advert for his next hire. His ad at first appeared straightforward: he wanted a stockman and a labourer....
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Look side ways at food scare stories
Food safety is in the news again in Europe after a media release from the Pesticide Action Network (PAN) in the EU in February. The release suggested that food safety authorities are under the...
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Don’t be the meat in the tax sandwich
Sometimes it can feel like you are the meat in the tax sandwich in April and May. Let me explain. On April 7, Inland Revenue (IRD) expects terminal tax to be paid by those who did not pay enough...
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Tall grass proves its versatility
A tall grass touted as a multi-purpose wonder plant has proved its worth as a shelterbelt replacement for Canterbury dairy farms, says Lincoln University ecology professor Steve Wratten. A North Asian...
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Murray Ball gave rural NZ an identity
I only ever met Murray Ball once, in a bookshop in Gisborne, and he was every bit the nice bloke his work, and everything I’d heard about him, suggested he would be. And while that’s an impression that...
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Greenwash
Your old mate sees that Auckland water and wastewater provider Watercare is making a big song and dance about its donation of $200,000 – over four years – to help clean up the Waikato River. Apparently...
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Unbelievable
Your canine crusader is not surprised to learn that the huge, multinational, tax dodging, political lobby group Greenpeace does not allow the facts to get in the way of its worldview and fund raising...
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Alternative facts?
The Hound sees that the temporary leader of the Labour Party, Andrew Little, is not averse to employing Trump-like tactics, i.e. making up political claims using ‘alternative facts’. According to Angry...
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Own goal
The Hound would like to know how much Fonterra and its shareholders’ council is paying rugby commentator – and a serial athlete cuddler – Scotty ‘Sumo’ Stevenson to front the dairy co-op’s expensive TV...
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Country of origin labelling a cool idea — Editorial
Mandatory labelling of fruits and vegetables is back on the public agenda. A recent joint survey, by Horticulture NZ and Consumer NZ, shows 70% of consumers want to know where their fruit and veges...
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Food security policy must be a priority
Election year is the time to pitch for policies that will enable the continued growth and prosperity of New Zealand. My pitch is for the Government to develop a food security policy. Three key...
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Cover your assets to avoid a financial mire
It's still possible in NZ to do a lot of business at the farm gate over a handshake. But a handshake can’t give you protection against third parties when things start to go wrong for your debtors....
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