June 2018
Welcome to the June edition of the NAKI NEWS
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Donald McIntyre
Provincial President
Federated Farmers Taranaki
M: 027 248 0099
E: [email protected] |
Diary Dates
Executive Meeting
Monday, June 18 - 'On Farm Safety Statford'
There is only one thing that is on both rural and urban folks minds, that is Mycoplasma Bovis. In association with Dairy NZ, Beef & Lamb and the Rural Support Trust, Taranaki Federated Farmers ran roadshows around Taranaki in the week of 28th May to try and help farmers and rural professionals to understand this disease and how to keep your business safe. With over 1000 people attending these meetings there was an obvious need for this, if you need more information, there is another meeting being run by MPI in Hawera on the 28 June. Some of the main points highlighted were:
- 12 forward movements of cattle in Taranaki, (these have been informed and taken appropriate management changes)
- By following good on farm biosecurity measures i.e. double fence boundaries, don’t let your cows mix with other herds, carry out wash and disinfect all vehicles and boots coming and going from your farm.
- Tag, register and transfer all cattle under your NAIT requirements.
Above all, you can keep on farming, it is just that you may need to change some of your farming practices to reduce your risk.
As this is the time of year where most farmers catch up on maintenance and holidays, with such a difficult year for farming just gone it is important that you take a break to recharge your batteries and spend time with family and friends to ready yourself for the new season. Try to get off farm, at least for a short time, talk to your neighbours (maybe even get up to the Field days at Mystery Creek).
The Federated Farmers Taranaki Mycoplasma bovis meeting held in Toko in May
Minister of Agriculture, Hon Damien O'Connor, visited Stratford
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Agriculture minister Damien O’Connor was the guest speaker at Taranaki Federated Famers AGM in Stratford last month.
Mr O’Connor discussed a number of topics including the future of the industry, M Bovis and water quality.
The
80 plus in attendance at the Stratford War Memorial function centre,
also heard from National’s Barbara Kuriger and Jonathan Young.
It was the first time Mr O’Connor had addressed a public group in Taranaki since taking on the role of Ag minister.
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New executive for Federated Farmers Taranaki
The Taranaki Federated Farmers executive has some new faces for the 2018/19 year, including Taranaki Ballance Farm Environment Award winner Leedom Gibbs.
Inglewood dairy farmer Donald McIntyre was re-elected President, and Lepperton farmer, Mark Hooper was elected on as Vice-President by the executive committee at their May meeting.
2018/19 Executive:
President:
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Donald McIntrye
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Vice President:
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Mark Hooper
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Dairy Chair:
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Janet Schultz
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Dairy Vice:
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Mark Hooper
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Meat & Wool Chair:
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Nick Brown
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Meat & Wool Vice:
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Niels Hansen
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Sharemilker Farm Owners' Section Chair:
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Brendan Attrill
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Sharemilkers' Section Chair:
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Matthew Herbert
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Committee:
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Leedom Gibbs, Bronwyn Muir, Jono Ardern, Byrce Kaiser,
Amanda Jordan |
Walk down memory lane
Federated Farmers Taranaki once had branches all throughout Taranaki, including a branch in Otakeho.
Office
Manager Jessie found minutes of the annual meeting for the Otakeho
Farmers Union from May 1935. Also in the files, were crop competition
entries from 1927. |
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Policy Update – Lisa Harper
Good news for North Taranaki farmers! New Plymouth District Council has accepted our submissions, saving farmers on their rates bills for years to come.
Farmers and commercial ratepayers were paying too much, and lifestyle blocks too little, because the rating differential policy (which says what proportion of rates should be collected from different types of ratepayers) wasn’t being applied as originally intended. Council had planned to raise the differential for lifestylers, but only apply the savings to the commercial sector. And with considerable resistance from lifestylers, there was a real risk that Council wouldn’t change anything and farmers would continue to pay more. Thankfully, Council agreed that the current arrangement was unfair and will raise the ‘smallholders’ differential’ and apply savings to farmers as well as the commercial ratepayers.
We also supported raising annual fees. Why is that good for farmers? If the annual fees are higher, the amount of rates collected via the ‘general rate’ is lower. Annual fees are paid equally by every household, but general rates are tagged to land value. So if you’ve got land, it’s far better to have a higher annual fee and a lower general rate.
DIARY DATES
June 18
Taranaki Provincial Executive meeting
On Farm Safety
From 6.30pm
June 26-28
Federated Farmers National Conference
Wellington
June 28
M. Bovis Information meeting
Hawera – venue TBC
1pm-3pm
Taranaki Provincial Executive Committee
President:
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Donald McIntyre
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Vice-President:
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Mark Hooper
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Dairy:
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Janet Schultz and Mark Hooper
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Sharemilkers':
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Matthew Herbert
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Sharemilker Farm Owners':
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Brendan Attrill & David Werder
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Meat & Wool:
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Nick Brown & Niels Hansen
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Committee:
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Bryce Kaiser, Jonathan Ardern, Fiona Howatson, Bronwyn Muir, Amanda Jordan,
Greg O’Byrne
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Office Manager:
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Jessie Waite
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| Policy Advisor: |
Lisa Harper
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| Territory Manager: |
Criag Sole
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Thank you to our provincial sponsors
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Federated Farmers Taranaki, 15 Young Street, Box 422, New Plymouth 4340
P 06 757-3423 E [email protected]