Latest news with #FederatedFarmers
NZ Herald
11 hours ago
- Politics
- NZ Herald
Government's farm chores proposal misunderstood, says Federated Farmers
'I expect higher-risk activities, such as being near heavy machinery like a hay baler, will remain off-limits. 'As children grow older, they'll be able to undertake more complex tasks with supervision and training, such as driving a tractor.' Federated Farmers New Zealand president Wayne Langford said farmers had been calling for clarity on the rules. 'Taking a closer look at these rules is really important, so it's disappointing a lot of people have gotten the wrong end of the stick,' Langford said. 'The Government aren't trying to add layers of bureaucracy or wrap farm kids up in cotton wool. 'They're actually trying to do the exact opposite of what's been portrayed in the media so far. 'This is all about making sure health and safety rules are practical, common sense, and easy to understand - and Federated Farmers absolutely welcome that conversation.' He said the examples given by van Velden were unfortunate and related to situations where children could be harmed, such as around large stock, heavy machinery and quad bikes. 'What she was saying was that, 'Hey, let's look at the roles that kids can play on-farm and some of those that maybe should be avoided'. 'For example, on my farm, I keep my young children out of the milking shed. 'It's a dangerous place for the kids to be. 'It's a place where they could be kicked or harmed.' In a statement, van Velden said the Government was proposing making it clear that children could safely take part in 'light chores' on family farms - but she expected higher-risk activities involving heavy machinery would remain off-limits. Farmers had told her they wanted the law to recognise that the farm was both their workplace and home, she said. Langford said the current health and safety rules for farmers had gone 'way too far' and were unnecessarily confusing for smaller family-owned farming operations. 'We're talking about small mum and dad type businesses which might only employ one or two staff members. 'They're certainly not big corporates with a health and safety manager on staff. 'They're hands-on farmers who actually spend their days farming rather than sitting in an office. 'That's why it's so important these rules are practical and easy to understand.' He said confusion about health and safety obligations meant some farmers no longer allowed children on the farm like they would have in the past, for fear of falling foul of the law. 'There's something very special about growing up on a farm and having that classic rural childhood many farmers enjoyed themselves,' Langford said. He said his own son was very good at reading stock because he'd grown up around them and spent so much time by his father's side on the farm. 'That's the childhood I had, and my own kids have had something similar, but I think we're at risk of losing that kind of upbringing if we don't get these rules right.' Langford said preserving that traditional rural Kiwi upbringing, while still keeping kids safe, was what was trying to be achieved. Labour's workplace relations and safety spokesperson Jan Tinetti said the Government was focusing on a non-existent problem, and her colleague Kieran McAnulty questioned the rationale and said he 'wouldn't have thought' it was an issue. 'It's pretty common knowledge if an egg is covered in poo, you don't lick it,' McAnulty said. 'Wash your hands afterwards. What's the problem?' But Langford said collecting eggs and watering plants was 'not really what we're talking about here'. 'The fact those are the talking points the minister was provided with by bureaucrats tells you everything you need to know about why we need to get Wellington out of farming,' Langford said. 'In reality, we're talking about things like feeding calves, shifting stock, or helping mum and dad hose down the shed after milking - perfectly safe everyday farming activities.' He said Federated Farmers looked forward to engaging in the consultation process. - RNZ
RNZ News
18 hours ago
- Politics
- RNZ News
Rule changes about chores children can do on farms misunderstood, Federated Farmers says
Wayne and Tyler Langford. Photo: Frank Film / supplied People have misunderstood the government's announcement regarding the threshold for light chores that children can do on farms, Federated Farmers says. On Tuesday Labour ridiculed the government's consultation with the agricultural sector after Workplace Relations and Safety Minister Brooke van Velden's announcement included the examples collecting eggs and watering plants. In the announcement, van Velden said one proposed change was to amend the General Risk Regulations to make it clear that young people could safely take part in light chores on family farms . "We'll be consulting with farmers and the agriculture sector on the thresholds for light chores children can do on farms, like collecting eggs, feeding small animals and watering plants, while ensuring safety is not compromised. "I expect higher-risk activities such as being near heavy machinery like a hay baler will remain off-limits. As children grow older, they'll be able to undertake more complex tasks with supervision and training, such as driving a tractor." Federated Farmers New Zealand president Wayne Langford said farmers had been calling for clarity on the rules. "Taking a closer look at these rules is really important, so it's disappointing a lot of people have gotten the wrong end of the stick," Langford said. "The government aren't trying to add layers of bureaucracy or wrap farm kids up in cotton wool. They're actually trying to do the exact opposite of what's been portrayed in the media so far. "This is all about making sure health and safety rules are practical, common sense, and easy to understand - and Federated Farmers absolutely welcome that conversation." He said the examples given by van Velden were unfortunate and concerns related to situations where children could be harmed, such as around large stock, heavy machinery and quad bikes. "What she was saying was that, 'Hey, let's look at the roles that kids can play on farm and some of those that maybe should be avoided'. "For example, on my farm I keep my young children out of the milking shed. It's a dangerous place for the kids to be. It's a place where they could be kicked or harmed." In a statement, van Velden said the government was proposing making it clear that children could safely take part in "light chores" on family farms - but she expected higher-risk activities involving heavy machinery would remain off-limits. Farmers had told her they wanted the law to recognise that the farm was both their workplace and home, she said. Langford said the current health and safety rules for farmers had gone "way too far" and were unnecessarily confusing for smaller family-owned farming operations. "We're talking about small mum and dad type businesses which might only employ one or two staff members. "They're certainly not big corporates with a health and safety manager on staff. "They're hands-on farmers who actually spend their days farming rather than sitting in an office. That's why it's so important these rules are practical and easy to understand." He said confusion about health and safety obligations meant some farmers no longer allowed children on the farm like they would have in the past, for fear of falling foul of the law. "There's something very special about growing up on a farm and having that classic rural childhood many farmers enjoyed themselves," Langford said. He said his own son was very good at reading stock because he'd grown up around them and spent so much time by his father's side on the farm. "That's the childhood I had, and my own kids have had something similar, but I think we're at risk of losing that kind of upbringing if we don't get these rules right." Langford said preserving that traditional rural Kiwi upbringing, while still keeping kids safe, was what was trying to be achieved. Labour's workplace relations and safety spokesperson Jan Tinetti said the government was focusing on a non-existent problem and her colleague Kieran McAnulty questioned the rationale and said he "wouldn't have thought" it was an issue. "It's pretty common knowledge if an egg is covered in poo, you don't lick it. Wash your hands afterwards, what's the problem?" McAnulty said. But Langford said collecting eggs and watering plants was "not really what we're talking about here". "The fact those are the talking points the minister was provided with by bureaucrats tells you everything you need to know about why we need to get Wellington out of farming," Langford said. "In reality, we're talking about things like feeding calves, shifting stock, or helping mum and dad hose down the shed after milking - perfectly safe everyday farming activities." He said Federated Farmers looked forward to engaging in the consultation process. Sign up for Ngā Pitopito Kōrero , a daily newsletter curated by our editors and delivered straight to your inbox every weekday.
Scoop
a day ago
- Politics
- Scoop
Federated Farmers Back Government Health & Safety Review
Federated Farmers is backing moves to review health and safety rules for farmers, saying it's unfortunate some seem to have completely misunderstood the Minister's announcement. "Taking a closer look at these rules is really important, so it's disappointing a lot of people have gotten the wrong end of the stick," Federated Farmers president Wayne Langford says. "The Government aren't trying to add layers of bureaucracy or wrap farm kids up in cotton wool. They're actually trying to do the exact opposite of what's been portrayed in the media so far. "This is all about making sure health and safety rules are practical, common sense, and easy to understand - and Federated Farmers absolutely welcome that conversation." Langford says the current health and safety rules for farmers have gone way too far and are unnecessarily confusing for smaller family-owned farming operations. "We're talking about small mum and dad type businesses which might only employ one or two staff members. They're certainly not big corporates with a health and safety manager on staff. "They're hands-on farmers who actually spend their days farming rather than sitting in an office. That's why it's so important these rules are practical and easy to understand." He says confusion about health and safety obligations has meant some farmers no longer allow children on the farm like they would have in the past, for fear of falling foul of the law. "There's something very special about growing up on a farm and having that classic rural childhood many farmers enjoyed themselves," Langford says. "That's the childhood I had, and my own kids have had something similar, but I think we're at risk of losing that kind of upbringing if we don't get these rules right." Langford says preserving that traditional rural Kiwi upbringing, while still keeping kids safe, is exactly what Minister Brooke van Velden is trying to achieve. "I think it's unfortunate the Minister's examples were things like collecting eggs and watering plants - because that's not really what we're talking about here. "The fact those are the talking points the Minister was provided with by bureaucrats tells you everything you need to know about why we need to get Wellington out of farming. "In reality, we're talking about things like feeding calves, shifting stock, or helping mum and dad hose down the shed after milking - perfectly safe everyday farming activities." Federated Farmers 100% backs what the Minister has announced and look forward to engaging in the consultation process.
Otago Daily Times
3 days ago
- Business
- Otago Daily Times
Young leaders to step up: president
The election of Canterbury sharemilker Karl Dean to the national dairy chairman role for Federated Farmers will cause Bex Green to step up as North Canterbury's president. Mr Dean, 36, replaced former dairy chairman Richard McIntyre and also takes his position on the national board with Richard Dawkins, 35, replacing Toby Williams to also join the national board. Federated Farmers president Wayne Langford said the two young leaders were stepping up into significant national leadership roles. "While they may be new to our national team, they're by no means new to Federated Farmers. They've held senior leadership roles within our organisation for some time now. Karl and Richard are both highly respected and experienced farmers within their regions, and have worked their way up from the grassroots." Mr Dean was previously the North Canterbury provincial president and vice-chairman of the national dairy council. "It's also been a huge honour to work with Richard McIntyre over the past seven years on the dairy council, and his 12 years of service hasn't gone unnoticed. His leadership has helped shape a strong, positive culture, and I'm committed to carrying that legacy forward." Mr Dawkins, who farms with his wife Jess in the Waihopai Valley near Blenheim, was elected as the organisation's new national meat and wool chairman. He has previously spent five years on the national meat and wool council and two years as Marlborough's vice-president. Mrs Green said the provincial president role had been in her sights for some time and she had just been waiting for the right moment for her family and her farming business. "Dairy farming is my passion, but I'm really excited that as president I'll get to broaden my horizons and come to grips with the issues in meat, wool and arable as well." She contract milks 1000 cows with her husband Blair in Culverden and was the province's vice-president under former president Caroline Amyes. With a third child still a toddler, she stayed as vice-president and took on the province's dairy chairwoman role when Mr Dean took over as president. Mrs Green has also been elected national dairy vice-chairwoman, the position Mr Dean vacated. She was named Federated Farmers 2024 Dairy Advocate of the Year for her leadership on issues such as streamlining a path to work in the dairy sector for immigrants. She was ready to tackle challenges to farmers. "Our North Canterbury sheep and beef farmers have been under huge pressure in recent years. They've had all those existing issues impacting the sector — and then a horrific drought on top of that. With the Federated Farmers 'Save our Sheep' campaign now well under way, my hope is we can bring more local sheep farmers back into the fold and really give them a voice and a platform." With three children under 13, she still finds time for multi-sports as a former Coast to Coast competitor, winning team categories for the past two years.
eNCA
4 days ago
- Business
- eNCA
New Zealand farmers battle pine forests to 'save our sheep'
WELLINGTON - New Zealand sheep farmers are fighting to stop the loss of pasture to fast-spreading pine plantations, which earn government subsidies to soak up carbon emissions. Concern over the scale of the farm-to-forest switch led the government to impose a moratorium in December on any new conversions not already in the pipeline. But farmers say forestry companies are flouting the clampdown. Last month, farmers launched a "Save our Sheep" campaign to reverse the loss of productive farmland. Sheep numbers have plummeted to around 23 million, down from a peak of around 70 million in the 1980s, according to official figures. Falling wool prices and rising milk and beef costs initially drove the decline, but the emissions trading since 2008 has added to the strain. The government is now investigating potential breaches of its moratorium by forestry companies, which have been buying up farmland as recently as June. Federated Farmers -- a lobby group for rural communities -- submitted to the government "a list of properties we believe have been sold for carbon forestry" since the halt, a spokesman said. The federation is concerned about the sale of more than 15,200 hectares of farmland, he told AFP. Dean Rabbidge, who runs a farm outside the Southland town of Wyndham, said some of the newly purchased farms had already been planted with pine trees. - 'Criminal' - "They're just ploughing on ahead, effectively giving the middle finger to the government announcement," Rabbidge told AFP. AFP | KAVINDA HERATH The moratorium had created a "gold rush", he said. "It's criminal what's happening." Agriculture and Forestry Minister Todd McClay said the government would change the law by October because it had become more profitable to plant pine forests than to farm sheep. "The law will include clarity on what qualifies as legitimate evidence of a pre-December investment and enable any specific cases to be properly assessed," McClay said. "Anyone who has bought land since December 4, 2024, irrespective of whether they also had trees or not, will not be able to register this land into the emissions trading scheme." Rural New Zealand once abounded with rolling pastures, rickety wire fences hemming in millions of sheep chewing on the green grass. But Rabbidge said those days were gone. "You won't see anything now," he said. "You're just driving through long pine tree tunnels -- shaded, wet, and damp." New Zealand is one of the rare countries to allow 100 percent of carbon emissions to be offset by forestry. "We're not anti-planting trees," sheep farmer Ben Fraser told AFP. "There are areas of land that should be retired, that aren't necessarily productive." But the trading scheme had driven an excessive loss of sheep pastures to forestry, he said. "That's the issue here." - 'So short-sighted' - Fraser, who farms near the North Island town of Ohakune, said he had seen an exodus of people from the district in recent years. "Since 2018, there've been 17 farms converted to forestry," he said. "That's about 18,000 hectares gone. So you're looking at about 180,000 sheep gone out of the district, plus lambs." The loss of sheep impacted the region. "If the farms thrive, then the towns thrive because people come in and spend their money," he said. "You've got farm suppliers, your fertiliser guys, your supermarkets, your butchers, all of that stuff struggling. "The local schools now have less kids in them. The people who stayed are now isolated, surrounded by pine trees." Rabbidge said the same was happening in Southland. "This whole thing is just so short-sighted," Rabbidge said. "Businesses here are forecasting anywhere between a 10 and 15 percent revenue reduction for the next financial year, and that's all on the back of properties that have sold or have been planted out in pine trees," he said. - 'Lamb on a plate' - "Think of all the shearers, the contractors, the transporters, the farm supply stores, the workers, the community centres, the schools, rugby clubs. Everything is affected by this." Government figures from 2023 show agriculture accounted for more than half of New Zealand's total greenhouse gas emissions. But farmers argue they have been working hard to reduce emissions, down more than 30 percent since the 1990s. "I could put a leg of lamb on a plate in London with a lower emissions profile, transport included, than a British farmer," Rabbidge said. "We just use our natural resources. We're not housing animals indoors and carting feed in and manure out. "Everything's done outside and done at low cost, low and moderate intensity." by Ben Strang
