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Nice drop!
A mate of the Hound recently attended the annual conference of Rural Contactors NZ, held in Blenheim in late June. He reckoned the conference was great and an added bonus was the free coffee cart put...
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Agriculture’s ‘limitless’ potential demands closer attention
Australian agriculture has almost limitless potential according to a landmark white paper on agricultural competitiveness released at the beginning of July. Prime Minister Tony Abbott and Minister for...
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West heads west
The Hound notes that Lincoln University’s vice-chancellor Andrew West has suddenly resigned. This old mutt hopes West’s replacement is not serial bow-tie wearer and rent-a-quote Lincoln academic Keith...
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Really?
The Hound sees that MPI has spent the thick end of $500,000 upgrading a building on The Terrace, Wellington, to accommodate its biosecurity team; its cost estimates were $100,000-$250,000. The building...
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Yeah, right
A new website has pop-up called waterqualitynz, which purports to provide “independent honesty in freshwater environmental reporting in NZ”. However, when your old mate went to look at who is behind...
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Common sense prevails
It appears much of the angst and anger percolating through the farming sector over proposed changes to health and safety regulations may now have eased. The parliamentary transport and industrial...
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Strong economy is good for environment
If agriculture is to keep contributing to New Zealand’s economy we must address the issues of productivity and environmental impact. We must continue to enhance our economic benefit by increasing...
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St Craig?
This old mutt reckons you are never as good as your obituaries make you out to be, and the recent untimely death of former Fonterra chief and agribusinessman Craig Norgate reminded your old mate of...
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Bad to worse
The Hound reckons if you needed any more proof of how much the Greens loathe farming, look at the recent reshuffling of its portfolio responsibilities. With the recent change in the party’s...
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Farming faces challenges and opportunities
Farming in New Zealand in 2015 can be summarised in two words: challenge and opportunity; it is through resilience that the former turns into the later. Whether it’s fluctuations in commodity prices or...
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Cheapskates
Your old mate sympathises with the plight of the country’s dairy farmers and how the falling payout is impacting their financial stability. However, the Hound suggests that while moves by Fonterra to...
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Still doing ok
The Hound notes that many commentators and armchair critics are all down in the mouth about the prospects of agriculture and farming at present, especially because of tumbling dairy prices. However...
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Out of control
Fonterra is losing control – control of correctly predicting the mood among commodity buyers and correctly predicting how dairy prices will fare. The extraordinary statement by chief executive Theo...
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Fonterra’s refresh should start at board level
Fonterra's commitment to volume, value and velocity (growing volume and value with speed – also called Strategy Refresh) has been firm and appears frequently on the corporate website. On March 29,...
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Hello pot!
The Hound reckons the Green Party’s former agriculture spokesman Steffan Browning is hypocritical in his recent attack on the appointment of the new boss of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Dr...
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Green dilemma
This old mutt notes that scientists have now developed a genetically engineered rice crop that could emit much less methane than normal rice. According to Nature Magazine, three years of field trials...
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Keeping NZ farming ahead of the rest
As an agricultural nation, New Zealand’s history in production farming traces back to when the early European settlers arrived on our shores in the late 1840s. When establishing a farm, these settlers...
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Milk price query no attack on farmers
In June I released information showing retail milk prices in New Zealand have risen at the same time as farmgate prices for farmers have halved. I started watching this in 2011, when retail milk...
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On the hook
It's a fallacy that the farming community need not worry about health and safety because of changes to the Health and Safety Reform Bill. While opposition politicians and unions – often one and the...
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No thanks
The Hound reckons the old adage ‘would you buy a used car off this man?’ should be applied when dealing with spin doctors and the companies they are promoting. Your old mate’s ears pricked up after...
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