Rural News
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An over-reliance on supplying logs for China's once booming construction sector is biting, as demand dries up - pulling prices down as forestry exports are forecast to drop 9 percent. Sally Murphy has the rural news.
Farmers spending less is having flow-on effects in the regions, and it's been especially tough in Southland where some businesses have had to close down due to the economic downturn. Sally Murphy has the rural news.
As part of the European Union Free Trade Deal, some cheese names like feta and gorgonzola will be protected so can't be used by New Zealand producers. Sally Murphy has the rural news.
The head of kiwifruit grower group NZKGI says growers are the most positive he's ever seen them at the start of a season. Sally Murphy has the rural news.
A couple of days after saying pumping water into the dried up Greenstreet Creek was not a straight forward activity and would only be a temporary solution - the Canterbury regional council's chief executive gave farmers the greenlight to pump water into it yesterday afternoon. Sally Murphy has the rural news.
Drought has been declared in Canterbury and Otago. Minister of Agriculture Todd McClay made the announcement this morning alongside $70,000 dollars of funding for several Rural Support Trusts across the regions. Sally Murphy has the rural news.
Farmers near the Greenstreet Creek on the outskirts of Ashburton say the Canterbury Regional Council sitting on its hands has resulted in the death of native fish and crayfish. Sally Murphy has the rural news.
Some exporters are happy with the fast tracking of the EU free-trade deal saying it means they'll benefit from tariff removals this season, while others say the rushed process means issues won't be worked through. Sally Murphy has the rural news.
Six-and-a-half-thousand hectares of mainly mature plantation trees in the Central North Island were blown over or snapped in half last February. Crews have been working non-stop to salvage the wood since then and the operation should be complete by June. Sally Murphy has the business news.
News from the rural farming sector. Cuts are coming for the Ministry for Primary Industries, but an MPI boss says it won't be to core frontline services like its quarantine officers, veterinarians or animal welfare officers, in efforts to reduce expenditure. The outlook for sheepmeat is worsening - with sheep farmers' profits expected to halve this season, due to lower lamb and mutton prices. Seven catchment groups are in for a 3.3 million dollar boost from the Government.
News from the rural farming sector. Lake Opuha only has a week's worth of water left. The dam near Fairlie which generates electricity for the national grid and supplies water to 16-thousand hectares of farmland - is sitting at just 10 percent of operational capacity. New Zealand scientists are set to share the secrets of horticultural export success with Vietnam. Federated Farmers is pushing ahead with its call for an independent inquiry into rural banking.
