ANIMAL HEALTH
MACHINERY & PRODUCTS
Getting ready for mating.
Valtra Unlimited clocks up 10 years. PAGE 20
PAGE 19
AGRIBUSINESS Digital currency on the rise. PAGE 15
TO ALL FARMERS, FOR ALL FARMERS APRIL 25, 2023: ISSUE 774
www.ruralnews.co.nz
HWEN has to go! SUDESH KISSUN
sudeshk@ruralnews.co.nz
BEEF + LAMB New Zealand is under fire from farmers for opting to remain in He Waka Eke Noa – the primary sector’s climate action partnership. Farmers who successfully moved remits at B+LNZ’s annual meeting three weeks ago claim the organisation is still not listening to its levy payers. North Waikato sheep and beef farmer Jason Barrier, who successfully moved a remit for B+LNZ to get out of HWEN, told Rural News that tinkering with HWEN is “simply not going to cut the mustard now”. Barrier points out that in its latest statement, the B+LNZ board says they
are going to do a better job of listening to farmers. “That is a welcome change, but actions speak louder than words,” he says. Barrier says his remit essentially asked the board to ‘get out of HWEN’ and was passed at the annual meeting. “And yet the first thing we get from the board is an email saying ‘we are not pulling out of HWEN’ – so I’m not sure if they really are listening yet.
Take Welly out! National last week unveiled its ‘Getting Back to Farming’ package with a promise of cutting red tape and getting Wellington out of farming. Changes flagged include making stock exclusion more practical, deferring central government rules requiring resource consents for winter grazing until freshwater farm plans are in place, and restarting live exports of cattle with gold standard rules set in regulation to protect animal welfare and safety. National leader Chris Luxon says this is only the start. “The country does not need rules: it needs better regulation.” Full details on page 3.
“What they are now proposing instead is something between a ‘halfway house’ and ‘a cup of tea’ where we go ahead with emissions reporting and defer the emissions pricing. “That’s probably a good thing as it buys us a bit of time to get out of this mess and come up with something more workable. But you can’t kick this can down the road forever, and tinkering with HWEN is simply not going to cut the mustard now.
“In my view, the whole thing needs a complete overhaul. We need some new ideas and a plan that is written by our industry for our industry and I’ve not seen any evidence to date that the board is prepared to consider major changes to HWEN.” Barrier claims the board is also saying they are getting in touch with the remit proposers. “I’m still waiting for the phone to ring.”
Katikati sheep and beef farmer and chair of Farmers 4 Positive Change, Rick Burke welcomes B+LNZ’s decision to hit the pause button regarding emissions pricing and addressing the disproportionate impact on the sheep and beef sector. However, regarding all the remits which centred around B+LNZ’s advocacy performance, Burke’s expectation is for an independent comprehensive review. “This must involve the grassroots farmers who are heavily involved in this discussion, like Waka Adrift and others,” he told Rural News. “It’s important to note these farmers have always been wanting to work with B+LNZ to ensure that change driven by regulation will be positive and incentivise and empower farmers to do the right thing, not price them out of existence! “We hope the B+LNZ board takes this seriously because we aren’t going away. We are here for the farmers who are often overwhelmed by the complexity of what’s coming at them.” Burke called on B+LNZ to live up to its mantra ‘by farmers for farmers’. In a statement last week, B+LNZ called for the staged implementation of an agricultural emissions framework, starting with the establishment of a robust emissions measuring and reporting system, with a price on emissions not introduced until outstanding issues are resolved. Board chair Kate Acland says the board has listened to what farmers have said at last month’s annual TO PAGE 4
SCAN THE QR CODE TO EXPLORE OUR NEW WEBSITE