Certainty in uncertain times - The decisive election result gives New Zealand and farmers certainty in uncertain times. For the first time under MMP New Zealand knew on election night the party that would lead the country. Read more »

Key meeting - Federated Farmers economic spokesman, Philip York, has already met with the incoming Prime Minister, John Key and discussed priorities for unlocking New Zealand's potential. The meeting which included Mr Key, Federated Farmers, Business NZ, the Business Roundtable, the Wellington Chamber of Commerce and Tourism Industry Association was an opportunity for key players to report on the current situation. With tourism and retail looking like they have a tough year ahead, Mr York was able to reassure the incoming Prime Minister that farming would be ‘business as usual'. In saying that he made it clear farmers were facing genuine problems with bureaucracy and compliance, severely restricting farming's prospect for growth. Mr York presented the Federation's Manifesto and the top 10 issues facing farmers. He said at the top of the agenda was reform of the Resource Management Act and the New Zealand Emissions Trading Scheme. Mr York said it became clear at the meeting the new government would be an advocate for business and less regulation.

Key speaking at National Council - The incoming Prime Minister John Key has accepted a speaking spot at next week's Federated Farmers National Council meeting in Wellington. The Leader of the Opposition, Phil Goff, Leader of the ACT Party, Rodney Hide, and Co-leader of the Green Party, Jeanette Fitzsimons have also confirmed speaking spots. Co-leader of the Maori Party, Tariana Turia is yet to confirm whether she will be attending the National Council next week as the Maori Party have hui commitments. Download full agenda here.

International incredulity - Farmers from around the world expressed incredulity that New Zealand, the world's most efficient agricultural producer, is including farm animals in an emissions trading scheme when Kyoto doesn't require it. Federated Farmers President, Don Nicolson, along with Vice-president, Frank Brenmuhl and chief executive, Conor English discussed the issue with the International Federation of Agricultural Producers at a meeting in Canberra this week. Also on the list for discussion was: trade access, water, climate change and animal identification and tracing. Mr Nicolson said farmers from around the world are closely watching how the New Zealand's Emission Trading Scheme plays out. He said: "Our peers are looking to New Zealand as the benchmark. They ask us ‘why on earth are you doing this to yourselves' and we agree."

Lake Taupo ruling ‘gutting' - Farmers are gutted with an Environment Court decision that will mean Taupo farmers will need planning permission just to go about their day-to-day work. The interim decision was released on Wednesday and upholds Environment Waikato's rules to protect water quality in and around Lake Taupo. It does this by restricting the amount of nitrogen, mainly from fertiliser use, entering waterways. Federated Farmers Ruapehu president Lyn Neeson said the news comes as "a big, big blow" to her affected members, mainly sheep and beef farmers on the western side of the lake. She said: "Farmers down here care about the lake, they are all keen fishermen, they love the lake. They've put in a huge amount of effort to mitigate any problems. This ruling is fundamentally flawed and fundamentally unfair." Ms Neeson said the extra level of compliance that would be heaped on farmers would deter people farming the area and hit property values. Read more »

Potential precedent - Environment spokesman for Federated Farmers, Lachlan McKenzie says he is deeply concerned the Lake Taupo decision will set a precedent for other parts of the country without just cause. He said this is a test for the new government. "They must prove they back economic development or we will see the economy's backbone contract at the very time it needs to expand," he said.

Obama lamb inspiration - Federated Farmers Meat & Fibre chairman, Bruce Wills used Barack Obama as inspiration to psych up farmers in their campaign to earn $150 a lamb. Speaking to the Federation's meat and fibre council in Wellington, Bruce quoted Obama's victory speech: "The road ahead will be long. Our climb will be steep. We may not get there in one year or even one term, but I have never been more hopeful that we will get there. He said these same words fit with my commitment to the sheep farmers of New Zealand. Read more »

Report flawed - Federated Farmers has completed its peer review of Fish & Game New Zealand and Forest & Bird's co-authored report, "Dairying and Declining Water Quality - Why has the Dairying and Clean Streams Accord not delivered cleaner streams?". The peer review was initiated by Federated Farmers to assess the quality of the report. It was undertaken by Federated Farmers' policy staff in Wellington and Dunedin and found serious errors in the co-authored report. Download Federated Farmers' peer review here ». 

Dairy important vote - Voting has opened for the Fonterra Director elections. Federated Farmers urges all Fonterra suppliers to vote. Dairy chairman, Lachlan McKenzie as urged voters not to let the corporate voters out-weigh the smaller farmers. Farmers have the most to gain from strong leadership. At the recent DairyNZ elections, only 17 percent of farmers voted. This represented 23 percent of all milk supplied. With such a small voting turnout, your vote, no matter how many milk solids you produce plays a significant role in the outcome. Fonterra farmers indicated in a recent survey by Federated Farmers that they value the co-op, as such they should vote. Voting closes 12noon on Tuesday November 25.

Breaking news - See Federated Farmers in the news this week.

Horizons pats dairy farmers on back! - "Dairy farmers in the Manawatu-Wanganui Region deserve a pat on the back for their efforts to fix problems leading to breaches of their effluent discharge consents", Garrick Murfitt, Horizons Regional Council chairman, said today. Horizons' staff inspected hundreds of sheds in the region over the past few months and reported 73 percent compliance with consent conditions. Some cases of non-compliance involved getting paperwork in order and particularly adjusting consents to take account of increased herd sizes. What the council said was most pleasing was the prompt action taken by most farmers to correct problems leading to significant non-compliances, mainly involving overflowing sumps and ponds onto farm land and then into waterways. Horizons' staff regularly reported visiting farms in the region that were models of environmental good practice, and said there was widespread interest in new technologies for improving effluent storage and disposal.

Well done dairy - Manawatu/Rangitikei Dairy chairman, Andrew Hoggard said that it was great to note that Horizons acknowledge the vast majority of dairy farmers are doing a fine job. He was also delighted that local farmers were quick to rectify problems. Federated Farmers is working closely with industry partners, DairyNZ and Fonterra, to develop the right tools for farming in an environmentally and economically sustainable way. Recently the group held a very successful field day at Massey's No 4 Dairy Farm, where effluent management was top of the agenda. Dairy chairman, Lachlan McKenzie congratulated Manawatu-Wanganui farmers for a job well done. He said the shift in attitude towards farmers and the way Horizons reported compliance would go along way in rebuilding relationships in the region. He said he hopes this new cooperative approach carries into discussions on the One Plan and the FARM Strategy.

Waikato water woes - Federated Farmers will be lodging an appeal against Waikato Regional Council's decision on the Proposed Variation 6 - Water Allocation - of the regional plan. The Council has adopted the hearing committee's recommendations, despite significant counter evidence from the Agricultural Group of which Federated Farmers is a member. The proposed Variation 6 gives water priority to the renewable electricity generation industry above agriculture. Unfortunately, this means that in many catchments, where water-take is considered to have already reached the maximum amount, agriculture will not be able to increase extraction of essential and valuable irrigation water. ‘First in, first served' is retained to a degree, but only after domestic and municipal supply requirements are met and after there is enough water for other in-stream uses - such as hydro power generation. Federated Farmers has numerous concerns including the large numbers of farmers who will require resource consents, even for stock-drinking water needs. Federated Farmers believes parts of the proposed rule do not balance needs of different groups and will lead to unnecessary costs and restrictions for agricultural users.

Taranaki cover girl - Learning by doing was the aim of the media training workshops in Palmerston North and Taranaki this week. It was a bit of a coup when one of the role-play, training interviews with a local journalist on Wednesday, ended up as the lead story in the Taranaki Daily News the next morning. Provincial president, Peter Adamski, dairy section chairwoman, Caroline Gilbert and her vice-chairman, Derek Gibson, had a taste of being in the hot seat when they were interviewed on economic and environmental consequences if the threat of the Fonterra tanker driver strike goes ahead next week.

Fowl taste in Wairarapa - The Wairarapa executive has asked the Greater Wellington Regional Council to start testing water for bird pollution after Canada goose have again exploded in the region. Wairarapa farmers are questioning the ability of Fish & Game to control the pest. Provincial president, Anders Crofoot, says the issue is hotting up particularly as culling should happen during the malt in January. With memories of Federated Farmers "goose cook up" still fresh in their minds, local farmers aren't racing to put the foul-tasting goose on their Christmas dinner menu. View photos of Federated Farmers February's "goose cook up" »

Not all doom and gloom - The global financial crisis is not all doom and gloom for farmers, according to Westpac economist Doug Steel. While dairy, meat and wool prices are likely to continue falling, other reactions to the crisis may be in farmers' favour, Mr Steel told the Federated Farmers Meat & Fibre council meeting in Wellington this week. The falling exchange rate, which could see the Kiwi dollar drop to below US50c, would offset falling prices, as would declining oil prices and decreases in international fertiliser prices. As welcome as these are, they do not completely make up for losses in export food prices. Lamb prices could fall 25% during the next six months as demand softened at Christmas and beyond. However, lamb's fall would not be as bad as that for beef. Read more »

Commodity prices fall - Commodity prices fell across the board last week according to the CBA NZ Commodity Price Index. Prices for dairy and beef continue to show large decreases but lamb surprisingly showed an increase in New Zealand dollar terms. Dairy prices took a severe tumble last week. The skim milk powder component of the dairy index lost 10.2% last week alone, now close to a two-year low. It has nearly halved in value since its high in August 2007. All other dairy products also tumbled, with whole milk powder prices sliding following the latest Fonterra online auction. The weighted average dairy commodity price has lost around 41% from its peak of US $5,460/tonne in November 2007 to now sit at US$3,200/tonne. Beef prices fell 24c in the past week, resulting from a small weakening of the USD coupled with a fall in US beef prices, which fell to USD 129c/lb. Current lamb prices seem to be bucking the downward trend of beef and dairy, showing a $3.61 rise per lamb in NZD dollar terms. The NZD traded between 0.58 and 0.61 USD last week.

Agribusiness review - View Rabobank's agribusiness report for November here.

For further information call 0800 327 646 

Sponsors advice

New sponsor - www.taxrefunds.co.nz has joined the Federated Farmers' team of sponsors. They offer a free service targeted at employees with the aim to help them get the tax refunds due to them.  Let your wage and salary earners know they can find out if they are eligible for a tax refund from IRD at a new website, www.taxrefunds.co.nz. The site provides a free, no obligation assessment of whether taxpayers are owed any of the estimated $700 million in unclaimed tax refunds that has accrued since 2003. 

Employment Training

Learn more about performance management and getting the best out of your staff. See below for the location of the next week of employment seminars. The cost to members is $30 for more information, 0800 327 646.

Contracts and agreements

Purchase online - Members can now purchase electronic online Federated Farmers contracts and agreements. Order here »

Rural jobs

Employment - Looking for a job or trying to find someone then make your first stop a visit to Federated Farmers website.  You can both advertise for employees or see what is available. Read more about rural jobs. Call 0800 327 646 if you have trouble logging on to the Federated Farmers website.

Special discounts

Crime fighting  - DataDot Technology helps you fight rural crime. A DataDot is a 1mm diameter disk that has a unique PIN laser etched onto it that you can attach to your valuables. Find out more on DataDot, call Federated Farmers on 0800 327 646 or visit Federated Farmers' website for more special discounts.

Learn and lead - Federated Farmers is holding leadership courses in November and December.  For more information visit Federated Farmers website, speak with your local provincial president, or call 0800 327 646.

Funding round - The Sustainable Farming Fund provides funding for communities to initiate projects that contribute to the future sustainability of New Zealand's land-based industries. The new funding round opens on 14 November and closes 5 February, 2009.  Sustainable Farming Fund is holding informal information sessions. These will give a brief overview of the fund and how to apply. There will be an opportunity to discuss project ideas and potential applications with a Project Advisor. Meeting dates: Cheviot - Tuesday 18 November 10am -11:30am, Cheviot Area School Hall; Tekapo - Tuesday 25 November, 10am - 11:30am, Tekapo Community Hall; Middlemarch - Wednesday 26 November, 1pm, M&WNZ Central Otago Monitor Farm Field Day; Winton - Thursday 27 November; 10am-11:30am, Anzac Lounge, RSA Hall. For further information please contact: Nic Newman 03 9431784, Nic.newman@maf.govt.nz

Dairy awards - New Zealand Dairy Industry Awards are open for entries for the 2009 competition. There are three competitions: the Sharemilker of the Year, Farm Manager of the Year and Dairy Trainee of the Year. The competition encourages best practice, the sharing of excellence and also identifies and promotes the dairy industry's future leaders.  Federated Farmers is one of the sponsors for the awards. Entries close in early January. Entry forms are available from the awards' website: www.dairyindustryawards.co.nz.

Free beer on the West Coast -  Wednesday 19 November, 7.15pm at the Monteiths Brewery, Greymouth. Includes Brewery tour, food, spot prizes, sponsor reps. RSVP to Sally Gallant, 03 732 3101, or mattandsal@farmside.co.nz by 17 November.

Hawke's Bay/Wairarapa launch evenings - Wednesday 19 November, 6.30pm, Steak and Ale House, Waipukurau or Thursday 20 November, 6.30pm, Tui HQ, Mangatainoka. RSVP for either night to Ben and Nicky Allomes 06 376 5799.

Quote of the week - "Fortunate people often have very favourable beginnings and very tragic endings. What matters isn't being applauded when you arrive - for that is common - but being missed when you leave." Santiz Baltasar Gracian