Category: Rural

Source: Radio New Zealand

While many farmers are riding a wave of strong farm-gate prices, the profits are only trickling into regional economies as they’re being cautious when it comes to spending.

Waikato Chamber of Commerce chief executive Don Good said farmers are using their profits to service debt and pay for upgrades and maintenance on the farm.

“Farmers have had a superb two seasons and now they have the makings of a third great season, their balance sheets have increased substantially. A year ago, people were getting 60 bucks for a lamb now you’re getting over $220. And cows, you could have bought them two, three years ago for around $900, they’re now between 3 to $4000 a head.

“Even wool is doing well and long may it continue because it certainly makes a difference to the Waikato.”

Good said on-farm profits were trickling into the wider economy.

“The general feeling is that farmers are a lot more conservative than they have been in the past, but they are investing in upgrades to the farm so money is beginning to flow through to the wider Waikato economy and our members are very comfortable with that.”

He said spending did differ from individual to individual.

“I mean we had a boat show here in September and I know manufacturers were selling $300,000 boats quiet comfortably.”

“But equally what I’m hearing is that farmers, when they’re looking at the payout range that Fonterra comes out with, which might be between $8-$10, farmers are hearing the eight not the 10, so they’re being conservative.”

He said retail and hospitality businesses that have survived the last few years are starting to feel things pick up.

“The Waikato economy is actually starting, or has been, taking off for some time. The money is coming in certainly through the farming sector, but equally we’re seeing manufacturing pick up, order books have lengthened and there’s a little bit of quiet confidence that this year could see a recovery. But everyone was thinking that in 2025, so we’re actually waiting to see it actually hit the bank accounts.”

It’s a similar story in South Canterbury, chief executive of the local Chamber of Commerce, Wendy Smith, said.

While farmer confidence is up – spending is slow.

“Yeah it’s been a great season, costs for some farm inputs are down while production is up, so whether or not it’s in dairy, beef, sheep prices, hort, they’re all doing nicely.

“So we’re certainly seeing improved farmer confidence, which is great to see and that will feed through to the economy but it’s still early days.”

Smith said there are pockets of retail and pockets of other industries that are doing really well.

“So some of those areas are construction, retail and car sales, they are doing really well. Others are still saying it’s tighter, but they’re beginning to see the light at the end of the tunnel.”

When Fonterra’s farmer-shareholders are paid out for the sale of the company’s consumer brands arm – businesses are expecting an uptick in spending, she said.

“We’re anticipating that there will be an increase in expenditure, obviously a number of them will retire debt, but we are anticipating that they’ll upgrade farm equipment, invest in new machinery and other off-farm assets. So that is coming. It’s just taking a little bit of time to feed through. And I think that’s just the reality of people being cautious. You know, there’s been a few tough years. So people are sensibly cautious and investing carefully.”

Head of agribusiness at financial advisory firm Findex, Hayden Dillon, said farmers are in a good position and the momentum is flowing through to service towns and the industries that back agriculture.

Speaking at the recent Southern Fieldays, he said our $80 billion export engine is helping kick-start regional economies that have been sluggish.

“It was highlighted at Fieldays that the highest unemployment rate is in Auckland and the lowest is in Southland. That is a clear example of an export-led recovery.

“We know New Zealand’s productivity record is not flash overall. But that is not the case on farms in Southland and other rural regions. Here, business owners are leading the recovery through exports, bringing in hard foreign currency and building real value in the regions.”

While that is undoubtedly positive, Dillon said good governance and caution still matter.

“We often say farmers are good in a drought and poor in a flush, but microeconomics means staying on top of costs, not taking your eye off the ball, and consistently pushing your service providers, whether that is interest rates or fertiliser pricing. It means making disciplined calls on capital expenditure, thinking carefully about expansion, and using the upside to build long-term legacy and succession plans.”

It also means keeping the same frugal habits that see you through the lean years.

He said farmers shouldn’t let costs creep, manage payroll and people well, shop your interest rates when rolling debt, maximise profits while you can, because the next tight season is never far away.

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– Published by EveningReport.nz and AsiaPacificReport.nz, see: MIL OSI in partnership with Radio New Zealand

Source: Radio New Zealand

A massive Hawke’s Bay water storage project is one step closer, with geotechnical work having started as part of a feasibility study.

Investigations into the proposed Heretaunga Water Storage Facility, a 27 million cubic metre dam on private land near Whanawhana, near Hastings, have started to address its economic, technical, cultural and environmental viability.

The site would harvest peak water flows from within the catchment and the Ngaruroro River in winter and store the water for release into Heretaunga’s rivers and streams during periods of peak summer demand.

In 2023, an initial pre-feasibility study was completed by the Hawke’s Bay Regional Council with support from Kānoa – the Regional Economic Development & Investment Unit, which has also funded the next step.

A local group of irrigators, commercial water users, mana whenua and municipal water suppliers took over the project late last year in November, forming a new company – Heretaunga Water Storage Limited – to oversee the feasibility study.

Interim chairperson and Hawke’s Bay grower Xan Harding said it would have two implications for the region.

“The dam itself, the project if it goes ahead, part of that water will be offsetting the existing environmental effects of existing activity and part of it will be available for new water.

“It’s improving existing environmental outcomes and it’s providing room for growth.”

Harding said investigations would also enable comparison with other water security options for the region.

“Hawke’s Bay is a water short region so we know through a combination of measures we need to deliver long term water security for the Heretaunga Plains.

“We need to pull all kinds of levers on both the supply and the demand side of the water equation to get there and water storage is part of that.”

Harding said while the focus of the group was on the feasibility of water storage for the region, that wasn’t to say other efforts like water use efficiency were not important.

He said there were no guarantee the Heretaunga Water Storage Facility project – previously estimated to be a $225 million build – would go ahead but it had the potential to deliver longterm certainty for growers, commercial water users and the Hawke’s Bay community.

“The feasibility assessment is a critical next step and in depth geotechnical and ecological work to support the feasibility assessment is well underway at site,” Harding said.

“We will continue through the feasibility assessment with a view to having this completed around the third quarter of this year, at which point we will make decisions around resource consenting.”

A key part of the Heretaunga Water Storage Facility proposal is that its development would be funded by those who benefit most from the water storage in a user-pays model.

It differs from that of the controversial Ruataniwha Dam proposal – rebranded as the Tukituki Water Security Project – which would see a dam built on the Makaroro River, a tributary of the Tukituki River.

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– Published by EveningReport.nz and AsiaPacificReport.nz, see: MIL OSI in partnership with Radio New Zealand

Source: Radio New Zealand

Rural services company PGG Wrightson (PGW) increased its half-year profit on the back of increased sales to a buoyant agricultural sector and farm exports.

Key numbers for the six months ended December compared with a year ago:

• Net profit $17.3m vs $16.0m
• Revenue $619.4m vs $570.3m
• Operating earnings $46m vs $41m
• Full year operating earnings guidance $64m
• Interim dividend 4.5 cents per share vs 2.5 cps

The big driver of the company’s higher profit was the performance of its retail and water division, which covered sales to farms, orchards, and irrigation, which delivered 85 percent of group revenue.

PGW chairperson John Nichol said the company had seen growth through most parts of the rural sector, particularly in red meat, kiwifruit and apples, while improved earnings for farms flowed through to demand for other rural goods and services.

“The first half was characterised by favourable commodity pricing across a number of key segments for PGW’s customers.

“Improved on-farm profitability translated into demand for PGW’s livestock services, pasture renewal, agronomy, and animal health.”

Nichol said the company had also benefited from its diversification through the acquisition of an animal health products company, the launch of a range of agricultural chemicals, and the leasing of a research station in Hawke’s Bay.

The company’s agency group, which handled livestock sales, wool, and real estate sales, also reported stronger earnings as higher livestock, wool, and rural land prices increased demand.

The two sectors under pressure were wine and cropping with subdued demand weighing on sentiment and investment decisions.

Nichol said the second half of the year was expected to remain strong as the first with the broad rural sector set to continue strongly helped by high commodity prices, a soft currency, lower interest rates, and steady profits .

“Overall conditions across agriculture remain favourable, with most parts of the sector performing well, supported by firm global demand and strong commodity pricing.”

The company has forecast full year operating earnings of around $64m.

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– Published by EveningReport.nz and AsiaPacificReport.nz, see: MIL OSI in partnership with Radio New Zealand

Source: Radio New Zealand

Teenage farmers are getting put through their paces in a new scheme helping youngsters enter the industry.

Government-owned company Pāmu has 19 apprentices learning the ropes at its farms, which many will go on to work for.

After experiencing dairying and livestock, the apprentices – who are already well into their work – can specialise in their chosen field.

Five of this year’s apprentice intake are at Rangitāiki Station, about 40 minutes southeast of Taupō, ready to start their day when RNZ turns up.

Sixteen-year-old Tori Cheetham has just moved from Gisborne, and 17-year-old Ryan Sayers has come from Hamilton.

“I moved in on 10 January and we started on the 12th. It’s pretty cool. It’s such a cool experience being able to learn the different trades of it – doing the dairy and the livestock,” Cheetham said.

“I’ve done a bit of both. I’m interested in the dairy aspect but also I’m beginning to like the dry stock, but beef more than the sheep,” Sayers said.

In a shed, the apprentices are killing sheep and preparing them for dog tucker, as practice for getting the cuts right for human consumption.

It is just their third time doing this, but apprentice scheme manager Gary Brady said they were already getting a handle on something they were likely to do a lot as junior shepherds.

“They’ll get a shed full of sheep and they’re told that’s your job for the day, and they’re dog tuckers, so it’s important they learn these basics.”

Brady said once they fully knew what they were doing, it should take about 30 minutes a sheep.

Alex Iremonger, 18, from Whakatane, worked quickly through his first sheep.

“We’ve just been doing some dog tuckers, so some not-as-well-off sheep – we captive bolt them, pull them out, cut the throat and then proceed to break them down from the shins to brisket.

“Then we take the skin off, open them up – that’s basically the finished product.”

Iremonger said he did not have much of a farming background, apart from working for a few months on a dairy farm.

But now he had chosen it as his career, he wanted to one day be a farm manager, and he said he had learnt plenty in his first few weeks as an apprentice.

“We’ve learnt to crutch, do dog tuckers, muttons, drench, give animals shots, just learned animal stockmanship, how to treat animals in the yards, how to move and shift animals.

“Also, we’re just learning a lot of people skills, how to budget, how to finance, how to deal with other people.”

The apprentices’ efforts impressed Brady.

“Ewes are a little bit tough, but they’re really good to learn on. If you can get the pattern and get everything tidy on these then the house meats come out really good.

“You can see a bit of wool and stuff on the leg there,” he said, pointing to one of the sheep carcasses.

“It doesn’t matter so much with these. I’ve never had a dog say, ‘I’m not eating that.’ It’s good learning.”

There was high interest in the scheme, with more than 100 applicants for the 10 places this year, he said.

After a three-week induction, the first years are then straight into work training, each getting a chance to look at dairying and livestock farming. Second and third years get to work in their areas of specialisation on Pāmu farms.

While the first years continue with their dog tucker, Taiwhakaea Osborne is hard at work loading bulls on to a stock truck.

He also gets to work with and train farm dogs – which he calls using Te Reo Māori, Osborne’s first language.

The second-year apprentice is working at Rangitāiki Station while still studying for his industry qualification.

“This year I’m focusing more on the feed allocation for stock. I’m currently working in the bull unit. It’s a 375-hectare block. In the summertime we’ve got about 1000 to 1200 bulls on farm.

“In that time I’m learning feed allocation and animal welfare and animal health.”

The 19-year-old, from Whakatane, also wants to be a farm manager.

When he speaks to RNZ, he’s fresh of an encounter with an angry animal.

“I noticed a bull that wasn’t moving so I decided to try to use my bike to give it a helping hand. It did not like that.

“It charged at me. I thought maybe that was a one-time thing, so I tried it again. He chased me.

“I though this is an unsafe situation for me and my bike, so I left it in the paddock.”

Osborne said that was all part of the learning.

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– Published by EveningReport.nz and AsiaPacificReport.nz, see: MIL OSI in partnership with Radio New Zealand

Source: Radio New Zealand

Anisha Satya for Country Life

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It’s what’s underneath that matters at the Underground Festival.

The soil, how we treat it, and who it feeds were key focuses at the two-day educational retreat, held in the middle of a vineyard in Waipara.

Fran Bailey is the mind behind New Zealand’s “festival for farmers,” which draws heavy inspiration from her time at the Groundswell Festival in England.

“It’s a regenerative agriculture festival [run] over two days on a no-till arable farm. And, yeah, they get about 8000 farmers there.”

Regenerative agriculture – building resilient farm systems by doing things like restoring nutrient-depleted soil – has gained ground amongst Kiwi farmers in recent years.

So why not bring the Groundswell Festival to New Zealand, too?

Bailey was raised on a Tokoroa dairy farm until the age of six.

“I didn’t have anything to do with farming after that, when mum and dad sold the farm in the late ’80s.”

But she found her way back to farming while working in the UK.

“I ended up working at a regenerative farming podcast, and went to a regenerative farming conference,” she says.

“These farmers stood up and went ‘I’m an environmentalist too!’, and they were so passionate about biodiversity.”

The conference lit a fire under her to share environment-conscious farming stories, which she felt were underrepresented in media.

“I just thought, ‘farmers care about the land, and not enough people know about this’.

“I sort of put a stake in the ground to help tell their stories.”

Bailey spent three years managing public relations for Groundswell, before coming back to New Zealand and trying the concept out locally.

The Underground Festival 2026 is the first official event, and saw hundreds of people make their way to Greystone Wines’ vineyard over the two days.

“The farmers here, they vary from 500 hectare-plus sheep and beef stations, down to small market gardeners.

“We’re all coming together around an interest in soil health, and fertility, and how we can improve our soils to therefore improve the health of our plants.”

Given the success of this year’s event, Bailey’s mind has already turned to next year.

“Farmers are the salt of the earth; they are wonderful people, very practical, and I just want to help them tell their stories, connect, and keep making good progress.”

Learn more:

• Find out more about the Underground Festival here

– Published by EveningReport.nz and AsiaPacificReport.nz, see: MIL OSI in partnership with Radio New Zealand

Source: Radio New Zealand

Just as he turns industrial waste back into good stuff for the earth, Matt Welton himself has come full circle.

The former prison officer and cartographer spent his first years out of school working in the scrap metal trade in London’s East End.

“Quite a lot of pressure on a young fella, going out knocking on doors to all these little scrap dealers and rag and bone men and whatever, with names like Jimmy Jighand and Pete Sparrowhawk.

“A good grounding, anyway, in how they sort of made a living out of nothing.”

Decades on from the early ’80s, he spends much of his time recycling waste and feeding it into a kiln in the heart of the rugged Akatarawa Valley, north of Wellington city.

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Welton collects the hops sludge left over from beer-making at Panhead Brewery in Upper Hutt, used wood pallets and forestry slash from his property to use as feedstock for the kiln, producing biochar.

Biochar is not unlike charcoal and is made from any sort of organic waste, and proponents say it improves the soil by helping it retain water and nutrients, sequestering carbon at the same time.

Welton has also partnered with the sustainability-focused fashion brand Kowtow, turning fabric from the cutting room floor into biochar, dubbed “black gold” by its devotees.

“[Kowtow] were looking at an alternative way of using their cutting room offcuts, rather than sending it to landfill, and so I said, ‘yeah, I’ll give it a go, we’ll try and make some biochar out of it’. It’s pure cotton. As long as it’s pure we should be able to turn it into char.”

He tests the char – produced via a technique known as pyrolysis – for impurities. Anything synthetic like elastic waistbands are a “no-no”, he said, as it can lead to higher readings of toxic elements like arsenic.

Welton took Country Life on a tour of his “biochar central”, a yard tucked into the side of a hill on his land, once covered in pine trees, which he is regenerating with wife Debbie into tracks and paddocks.

The couple has also placed 30 hectares of their block under a QEII Trust Covenant to protect the remaining native forest which escaped logging last century.

The Akatarawa Valley was a hive of sawmills and logging tracks up until the 1960s and remnants of the industry can be seen on Welton’s property.

They harvested the last of the pines when they arrived but mountains of slash were left behind by the foresters.

“They’ve taken the lengths they want, and then they just biff the rest over the side.”

The forest waste sowed an idea to turn it into something useful, and Welton’s venture Biochar Carbon Options developed from there. He now sells the crumbly mix, charged with brews of seaweed and horse manure, and sells it to growers and farmers.

Welton said he’s had several “Heath Robinson” moments developing the process, including happening on the idea of petanque balls – their heaviness good for pulverising the lumpy pyrolised waste in an old concrete mixer – so that the biochar is the right consistency for sprinkling on the earth.

“It’s a bit of a number 8 wire system, but it works.”

Welton can see the potential for such a system at landfill sites, taking all the green waste, as well as at forestry blocks.

“You could have mobile plants going up to forestry sites and converting [slash] into char, following the crews around. If you could talk to the crews and say, rather than throwing the waste to the left, can you throw it to the right, and then we can deal with it there.

“There’s so many different ways of utilising the product and utilising the waste, and, you know, getting involved with those communities that I just think it’s a no brainer, really.”

Learn more:

• Discover scientific research on biochar here

– Published by EveningReport.nz and AsiaPacificReport.nz, see: MIL OSI in partnership with Radio New Zealand

Source: Radio New Zealand

From the highlands of Scotland to the hills surrounding Gore in Southland, Mary McRae’s legacy of distilling lives on at the Hokonui Moonshine Museum and Distillery.

Arriving on New Zealand shores in the 1870s, along with her seven children, the widowed McRae brought with her a beautiful little petite whisky still which had been passed down to her.

And so, trained in the art of distilling by her mother and grandmother before her, the healer and midwife brought the tradition of Highland Scottish whisky making to rural Southland.

“She also continued in the tradition of not paying excise on the sale of any of that product,” explained the museum’s curator Jim Geddes, adding that the McRae family refused to pay excise tax in Scotland on moral and political grounds.

Making the spirit was part of their culture, they believed, and used for medicinal purposes and family celebrations.

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The McRae’s whisky, distilled in the rugged Hokonui hills was considered a “very high-quality spirit”, Geddes told Country Life on a tour of the museum.

Hers was in “stark contrast to the adulterated spirit” that importers were sending to Southland – this was the “real deal”.

Townsfolk had grown tired of the poor behaviour stemming from local imbibers, who Geddes described as “hard-working” and “hard-drinking”.

But the McCraes had a more measured approach.

“The McCraes had always had a policy of not putting their product into a home where it would do any harm. So they pretty much minded their own business and they were able to do that in the shadow of the Hokonui Hills.”

But like other whisky makers and producers of “moonshine” – a lesser quality spirit – the McRaes would be caught up in the temperance movement which swept through much of the region and eventually saw Gore become a ‘dry’ district where the sale of alcohol was prohibited.

“From the 1st of July 1903, the Mataura licensing district was dry and it stayed dry for 51 years.”

Despite the closure of the 15 hotels in the licensing district, demand for alcohol remained high, giving way to a number of illicit moonshine-makers capitalising on the now lucrative tradition of distilling.

The booming trade also gave rise to police and customs officials determined to put a stop to it.

“Hokonui was always high quality spirit, strongly connected with the McRae clan. Hokonui moonshine was something else. It was a grain spirit, straight out of the still and gone.”

The Prohibition era led to over 30 prosecutions, the last of which was in 1957.

In nearly all of them there was a McRae link, Geddes said, and often a tenuous one.

The tradition still lives on today – now legally – with a modern distillery built in 2020 alongside the museum.

“Working with Bill “W.D.” Stuart, the great-grandson of Mary McRae, we were able to source a family recipe,” Geddes said.

With guidance from others in New Zealand’s burgeoning spirit industry – now worth $40 to $50 million in exports, the distillery functions in a non-profit capacity.

“The spirit that we make is from grain which is grown in the area. So we have engaged with families who have been farming here for generations. All the ingredients are local. The recipe is local.”

Learn more:

• Find out more about the Hokonui Moonshine Museum and Distillery in Gore here

– Published by EveningReport.nz and AsiaPacificReport.nz, see: MIL OSI in partnership with Radio New Zealand

Source: Radio New Zealand

Warning: The following story contains an image that may disturb some viewers.

A Northland farmer says more than 250 of his family’s sheep have been killed by roaming dogs, and he’s thinking of quitting sheep farming if the killing can’t be stopped.

His call for action comes in the same week a woman was mauled to death by a pack of dogs in Kaihu.

Finn Cook is the fourth generation of his family to farm near Kaeo in the Far North.

He said roaming dogs had always been a bit of a nuisance for their stock, but towards the end of last year, the problem got out of hand as hundreds of their sheep were attacked and killed.

“It’s pretty disgusting to walk out there and see sheep half chewed on, still alive, can’t move on the ground. Especially in the heat with the flies and stuff.”

Cook said his uncle had already had to give up on sheep farming because of wild dogs, and if Cook couldn’t find a solution, his family would have to do the same.

“We’re at a dead end. We don’t know what to do. We don’t know what support there is for us as farmers because the laws aren’t in anyone’s favour here.”

He has tried taking matters into his own hands and shooting the dogs but he said it didn’t make a difference.

“They just keep coming. The dog owners need to hold themselves accountable, they don’t post up that they’ve got missing dogs either. Because I’m sure they know their dog’s been up to no good.”

He also tried contacting dog control at the council, but said it was hard to get any action from them.

“You’ve basically got to visually sight the dog all the way home, prove where it’s living and then also prove that it’s been killing your sheep… for them to actually do anything about it.”

But Far North District Council’s delivery and operations manager Hillary Sumpter said in a statement that the council only had records of one complaint from Cook.

“If we gave Mr Cook the impression that the council would only act when it had video evidence, then I apologise – that is not the case,” Sumpter said.

The council needed good eyewitness accounts or other evidence linking a dog to an attack which would stand up in court, she said.

“Setting dog traps and focusing our patrols on problem areas are methods we use to gather evidence. It is not possible to monitor a property 24 hours a day.”

Whangarei woman Tracy Clarke also knows about the problems roaming dogs can cause – she has been afraid to even walk down her street since she narrowly escaped a pitbull coming after her.

“It’s only just a few metres away, and I knew that I was in bloody big strife to be fair. Within a split second, I just heard a woman scream at me to get in and she parked up beside me – it was actually a local courier.”

After that ordeal, Clarke delivered a petition to parliament, calling for the rules around dog control to be changed.

“The current legislation governing dog ownership and control came into force in 1996. I know that sounds just like yesterday but in actual fact, it was all written 30 years ago. Clearly, it’s no longer befitting.”

Cook agreed there needed to be law changes, but said the owners needed to take some responsibility.

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– Published by EveningReport.nz and AsiaPacificReport.nz, see: MIL OSI in partnership with Radio New Zealand

Source: Radio New Zealand

The multi-billion-dollar sale of dairy co-operative Fonterra’s consumer brands business is one step closer, as shareholders overwhelmingly approve another regulatory hurdle to the international deal.

More than 98 percent of the co-op’s 8000 shareholders voted in favour of the capital return scheme resulting from the divestment of Mainland Group, at a special meeting this morning.

In October, shareholders approved the proposal to sell the consumer brands business – behind well-known brands like Anchor, Kāpiti, Perfect Italiano and Fresh’n Fruity – to French dairy giant Lactalis.

This week’s vote was one of the various approvals needed for the international transaction of $4.22 billion to be completed, with more to go.

Shareholders would receive $3.2 billion once the sale was complete in one lump sum, while up to $1 billion would go back into the co-op.

Board chairman Peter McBride said in the meeting that the sale process was progressing, before an expected completion by the end of next month.

“Your co-op has been working to deliver the proposed capital return as quickly as possible,” he said.

“We are targeting a tax-free capital return of $2 per share to shareholders and unit holders, equivalent to around $3.2 billion, once the sale is complete.”

McBride said shareholders did not have to do anything to prepare, as the co-op would ensure their shares ahead of the deal remained unchanged.

“Subject to approval by shareholders, settlement of the transaction and receipt of final court orders, the co-op continues to expect the transaction to be complete in the first quarter of this calendar year.

“That is, by 31 March 2026,” he said.

A co-op spokesperson said it planned to invest up to $1 billion it would get from the sale into value-add projects across ingredients and foodservice, including the butter factory expansion at Clandeboye.

Fonterra co-operative chair and Wairarapa cocky John Stevenson said farmers would likely bank their dividends and pay down debt with the cash injection.

He said farmers will also keep a close eye on how Fonterra executes its new strategy as a global dairy ingredients supplier.

“I’m not surprised, I think the original vote on whether to divest or not was certainly the one where farmers put significant effort into understanding the proposal in front of them,” he said.

“Whilst an important part of the process is essentially in farmers’ minds re-confirming that they’re happy with the outcome of that in terms of the capital return and happy for Fonterra to continue in that direction.”

The payment would result in a lump sum payment for shareholders after the subdivision.

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– Published by EveningReport.nz and AsiaPacificReport.nz, see: MIL OSI in partnership with Radio New Zealand

Source: Radio New Zealand

Rural contractors say new road rules for agricultural machinery are nowhere to be seen, and in the meantime contractors are still being stung with fines.

To operate tractors or heavy machinery like harvesters on roads, drivers must get a permit. But the rules are “outdated” and not keeping up with new technology, critics say.

Rural Contractors NZ chief executive Andrew Olsen said often new machinery and tractors being imported were already overweight and oversized.

“They arrive and contractors already can’t drive them on roads – that’s before they’ve even added tools or equipment to the back.”

Last year the government said it would address the issue.

The Ministry of Transport said it was working on a range of reforms to land transport rules for heavy vehicles – but the timing for new rules for agricultural vehicles was not clear.

“The review of weight limits is a longer-term piece of work to review the vehicle dimension and mass (VDAM) rule,” Olsen said.

“This rule sets out the maximum permitted weight, width and length for vehicles operated on New Zealand’s roads – including heavy agricultural vehicles. We recognise that the VDAM rule has not kept pace with developments in the industry, such as performance improvements in modern vehicles.”

Because this work required significant research and analysis, the timing of any changes had not yet been confirmed, a ministry spokesperson said.

Olsen said that was frustrating, and feared changes could be years away.

“We believe this should be a priority – it’s about managing those oversized vehicles on the road and determining not that they are safe, but that they are roadworthy and able to meet the standard without needing to necessarily add a whole lot of complexity around obtaining a piece of paper to do so.

“This is a productivity issue. It’s very complicated to get an overweight permit – there’s a few ways to do it, but none of them are simple.”

Olsen respected it would not be a straightforward or quick process to develop new rules, but he just wanted them to get underway.

“We don’t have a lot of time because these machines are on the road now, and we need to find a common sense and pragmatic solution to this sooner rather than later. “

He said since the government signalled change, fines issued had reduced – but he was not sure if that was because regulators were being more lenient or if contractors were working harder to get permits.

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– Published by EveningReport.nz and AsiaPacificReport.nz, see: MIL OSI in partnership with Radio New Zealand