The strawberry needle scare has been made worse by the Deputy PM stupidly telling media all imported strawbs from Oz are being scanned for metal objects in NZ. (It’s happening in Oz not in NZ) Consumers expect accurate info from Govt when food safety & human health is involved.

Shock horror! Confirmed in Parliament today there’s been NO detector dogs working on the ‘Green Lane’ between 2-5am at Akld airport for 9 months. Thousands of passengers have wandered through unchecked while the dogs snooze. Massive biosecurity risks & Govt caught napping. Ouch

Gutted to hear Hunter Downs water storage project in Sth Canty couldn’t secure investment capital. This is because the Coalition Govt hate irrigation & pulled funding despite saying they back the regions..?Waimate has lost job opportunities, growth & environmental benefits. Damn.

The National Environmental Standard for Freshwater announced by Govt today is a real concern farmers. Govt wants to regulate winter grazing, cropping on hills & feedlots by 2020. Feels like anti farming, red tape & more costs. Who is standing up for rural communities in Govt?

Today we launched the 'Have Your Say' listening campaign for rural NZ. We want to ensure we work hard to represent rural & provincial NZ as we develop policies for 2020. Rural NZ is the backbone of NZ and needs a strong voice. Head to national.org.nz/rural_nz to share your views.

Holey Moley. Labour Govt is confirmed to be in discussions with Wgtn Council about a regional fuel tax. This is alarming when motorists are getting hammered at the pump by the Govt hiking up excise fuel tax and pushing up the cost of living. Out of touch. newshub.co.nz/home/new-zeala…

All the rhetoric about careful consideration and how difficult it was to decide to grant drug smuggler Karel Sroubek residency. The decision was made in less than an hour. Extraordinary. #ILGmustgo

Rural communities will be gutted that the ‘School of Rural Medicine’ proposal has ended up on the scrap heap by the Coalition Government. This would have seen an 60 extra Doctors trained specifically for rural NZ. Another body blow that’s hard to fathom. nzherald.co.nz/politics/news/…

The Waimea dam got a big boost today with Parliament voting for it. Its vital for Nelson region - providing drinking water, improved aquatic life, high value crops like apples and berries. Plus more local jobs & export growth. Congrats to all involved. Big vision 2c it through

My members bill puts tougher penalties and deterrents on those who intentionally contaminate our food such as with the Strawberry needle scares. Industry are supportive and have been calling on Govt for changes, but Damien O’Connor continues to ignore them tvnz.co.nz/one-news/new-z…

My Member’s Bill seeks to achieve what the Government appears unwilling to do – protect New Zealanders from those that would threaten our food safety, be they reckless pranksters or people intent on nothing less than economic sabotage.

After a strong campaign by National the Govt has caved in on CGT. Farmers won’t be popping champagne corks because they are still weary of this Govt as the Greens want to see environmental taxes implemented. Plus an ETS tax on animal emissions is just around the corner.

Can’t believe I just heard Damien O’Connor say @NZDairyAwards that farmers should make more profit so the Govt gets more tax! #outoftouch

NZFirst has been getting it in the ear from farmers for unrealistic methane targets and trees devastating rural communities. Shane Jones can't take the criticism, and yesterday on The Country resorted to slagging off our hard working primary sector who contribute $46b to NZ

Budget19 & Govt look like a shambles..

Budget19 is going from bad to wheels falling off..

Cheers to all our hard working dairy farmers on World Milk Day. Great to celebrate with Barbara Kuriger MP Ian McKelvie who advocate strongly for rural communities

Feeling proud to be a farmer tonight. Great Country Calendar story on the Hocken’s in Taranaki. Followed by Sunday who showed smart farmers caring for the environment & also really worried about far reaching Govt policies. A last some sensible balanced coverage.

Congrats to Volker Kuntzsch for winning the 2019 Rabobank Leadership Award last night & Mat Hocken won emerging leader award. Volker is driving sustainable seafood at Sanford. Mat from the Manawatu has grown into a strong leader & his skills will be valuable in the Ag industry

Outgoing Fonterra Chair John Monaghan has been a steady pair of hands on the board for 12 yrs. He’s always had dairy farmers front & centre & talks their language. As Chair he’s driven a new strategy & helped make Fonterra stronger & more resilient. His experience will be missed.