CPI spike poses challenge to economic policy - Read more »

ATV accidents down but a poor year for farm safety - Read more »

Holiday rain welcomed with open arms - Read more »

Gods of climate change -  Read more »

To view the full list of media releases or to view any other publications, click here.

Broadband infrastructure tool kit - Federated Farmers would like to know the experiences of members that have been approached to host fibre-optic broadband across cell phone or wireless towers on their property. Federated Farmers New Zealand is developing a toolkit for members who may be approached to host broadband infrastructure as part of the upcoming rural broadband initiative roll-out through out New Zealand. Members who have been through this process and wish to provide feedback should contact Policy Advisor, Matt Scott, by clicking here or by calling 0800 327 646.

GST and petrol drive up inflation - The Consumer Price Index increased by 2.3 percent in the December quarter driven by October's GST increase and higher international oil prices pushing up petrol prices. The quarterly increase is the largest since 1989 when GST was last increased and takes annual inflation to 4 percent.  Taking off the on-off impact of the GST rise annual inflation is running around 2 percent which is comfortably within the Reserve Bank's target.  However, as the economy recovers, inflationary pressures are likely to re-emerge and all political parties need to be mindful of not stoking these pressures as they develop their election policies.

Farm Prices Up - An increase in the number of dairy farm sales in December helped push up the rural property market, this according to the latest monthly statistics from the Real Estate Institute of New Zealand. In the last three months of 2010 there were 213 farm sales, an increase on the 170 sold in the three months to the end of November but down on the 241 sales in the three months to December 2009.  Prices also recovered, with the national median farm sale price of $1,150,000 for the three months to December 2010.  This was up from $968,500 at the end of November 2010 and was 15 percent higher than the median of $1,000,000 for the last three months of 2009.  Although the market was improving at the end of a tough year, both the number of farm sales and average prices are still well below 2008 levels

Growing your business through pasture renewal -If your business is based on growing grass, the Pasture Renewable Charitable Trust’s latest free e-book is for you. It is packed full of incredibly useful advice for the dairy, sheep and beef sectors. This e-book is not about ‘a one size fits all’ set of recommendations, but makes a sound business case for renewing farm pasture. As Federated Farmers President, Don Nicolson, notes in the foreword, “Farmers may not be able to do much about weather events, aside from sound preparation, but we can do a lot about the engine room of our farming system - pasture”. The e-book explains why pasture renewal could put an additional $1.6 billion into farm incomes. To get your copy of the Pasture Renewable Charitable Trust’s, How to be more popular with the girl’s e-book, then please click here.

Consultation meetings on the Red Meat Sector Strategy - Deloitte are to hold a series of meetings between 24 January and 14 February to discuss the preliminary findings of their work. Farmers are welcome to attend these meetings to help add value to the strategy development process. In addition, other mechanisms to enable farmers to have input into the process are being investigated. For details of the meeting locations and times click here.

NAIT Bill questionnaire - A questionnaire on the National Animal Identification and Tracing [NAIT] Bill before parliament has been e-mailed to members.  Make sure your responses are sent in by Wednesday, 26 January, as they will help with the development of the Federation's submission.  If you have not received a copy of the questionnaire, but would like one, please contact David Burt on 0800 327 646 or dburt@fedfarm.org.nz

Beef + Lamb New Zealand director elections - Nominations close on 27 January 2011 for two farmer-elected director positions (for the eastern North Island and the southern South Island electorates) on the board of Beef + Lamb New Zealand. Nominations must be submitted on the official form that can be obtained from Returning Officer, Warwick Lampp, by calling the election hotline on 0508 666 336. Voters in the two electorates are encouraged to check that they are on the electoral roll and this can also be done by calling the election hotline. Farmers who are not registered need to fill out a voter registration form by Thursday, 17 February 2011. To be eligible to vote, a livestock farmer must have owned at least 250 sheep, 50 beef cattle or 100 dairy cattle on 30 June 2010. Election Day is Thursday, 17 March 2011. Elections will be conducted by postal and internet voting and forms will be posted out in February 2011.

Beef + Lamb New Zealand AGM remits - The 2011 Beef + Lamb New Zealand AGM will be held on 31 March 2011 in Christchurch. Livestock farmers who want to propose remits are invited to submit them by Thursday, 27 January 2011. Remits must be submitted on the official form, that can be obtained from Beef + Lamb New Zealand General Counsel, Mark Dunlop, by phoning 0800 233 352. Remits require ten levy payer signatures and those farmers must be registered on the Beef + Lamb New Zealand electoral roll. Remits will be included with voting documents and sent to farmers in February 2011.

The Pahiatua Long Lunch - Get into the swing of summer this Waitangi Day at the Pahiatua Long Lunch in the town square. The afternoon will feature a formal three course meal served by the Black Stump Café.  Palmerston North based singer Erna Ferry and her band will be entertaining the crowd with jazz music. The theme is garden party, so get out the glad rags and don't forget your hat.  Tickets are $50 per person and are available from the Pahiatua Information Centre or the Black Stump Café. Numbers are limited, for further information, contact Andrea Beagley Tararua Field Officer at abeagley@fedfarm.org.nz on 027 551 1673.

Fencing in Action - On February 10 and 11 is a demonstration event bringing together fencing industry exhibitors.  There will be four demonstration areas where exhibitors can interact and show their products.  Look for Fencing in Action at site 14 at Ag in Action. For more details click here

Federated Farmers Dairy goes on tour, would you like to join us? - On Wednesday, 16 February, Federated Farmers Dairy is organising a day tour of Canterbury to show how the province is making the most of its water. We plan to visit the recently commissioned Barhill Chertsey Irrigation Scheme intake on the Rakaia River, a small hydro scheme in Ashburton, gravity assisted irrigations schemes and other operations and hear from the experts as we go. We will also see a little of the damage done to farms as we travel through areas affected by the recent earthquakes. We would love you to come with us, if you are interested please contact Dairy Policy Advisor, Ann Thompson, at athompson@fedfarm.org.nz or on 0800 327 646.

2011 Federated Farmers Goats conference - The Federated Farmers Goats conference is heading to Central Otago in 2011. Preliminary information can be found by clicking here and registration forms can be downloaded by clicking here. An additional, optional, day has been added to the normal Federated Farmers Goats conference format, so that visitors to the area can enjoy some of the sights and tastes of Central Otago. This extra day will be on Monday, 21 February while the conference itself will be held on Tuesday, 22 and Wednesday, 23 February, finishing at lunchtime. Gold panning, curling and vineyard visits are also being planned, in addition to farm visits and the normal business of conference. The venue for next year's conference is the Centennial Court Motor Inn, Alexandra.

2011 Land Treatment Collective annual conference - Registrations for the 2011 New Zealand Land Treatment Collective (NZLTC) annual conference, which is to be held from 23 - 25 March in Palmerston North, are now open. The conference theme, ‘Winds of change: land treatment in challenging times', covers a broad range of topics including the application of biosolids to land, dairy effluent and water quality, onsite wastewater designs and issues  in a new lifestyle block subdivision, GIS mapping and modelling and a preview of the New Zealand greywater guidelines. The 2011 conference is being held in cooperation with Small Wastewater and Natural Systems Special Interest Group (SWANS-SIG) of WaterNZ. To enquire about registration, please email the organisers by clicking here or, if you are a member, you may visit the website by clicking here.

Farming to Succeed applications are now open - If you're a Level 3 or above farm trainee, you have the opportunity to apply for Agriculture ITO's Farming to Succeed programme sponsored by FIL New Zealand. This free career development programme runs over five days, during which participants go through a series of workshops, farm visits and discussion groups to explore key ingredients required for the achievement of personal and business success. There are no course fees and places are limited, so be in quick. Visit www.farmingtosucceed.co.nz for full terms and conditions and to apply. Remember, to find out more about this course and many more, contact an Agriculture ITO training advisor on 0800 691 111 or visit www.agricultureito.ac.nz.

Heavily discounted Contracts & Agreements -  Ensure your business, employees and contractors are covered by the appropriate contracts and agreements to safe guard against unnecessary legal problems. Federated Farmers have discounted prices available to members with savings of up to $105.00!   At just $50.00 plus GST for members, it's easier and cheaper to ensure all necessary contractual agreements are in place to protect your business.   For the full range of contracts and agreements available and to determine which are appropriate call our Customer Services team on 0800 327 646

Member benefits and offers - To view special discounts exclusive to Federated Farmers members, please call 0800 327 646 or click here to log onto our members only area.

Quote of the week - "If Chris Trotter is indeed a scholarly student of history, then instead of the ‘perspective' heading he was writing under, may I suggest it be retitled ‘the dinosaurs roar'."  Don Nicolson puts left-wing commentator, Chris Trotter, in his place.