Words by: Dr Tim Mackle, DairyNZ Chief Executive
With an election just around the corner, DairyNZ has been actively working to represent your views to politicians across the spectrum.
We have seen in past elections that a range of issues affecting dairy farmers has become politicised during the campaign season.
This election, DairyNZ aimed to bring forward the real issues affecting dairy farmers and stimulate discussion among political parties about how they will address those concerns.
We know that dairy has a critical role to play in New Zealand’s Covid-19 recovery, so it’s important for all Kiwis that our sector is productive and prosperous. We are New Zealand’s largest export sector and account for over a third of our total export value. We also directly support nearly 50,000 jobs – many in the regions.
We know we also have a key role to play in New Zealand’s efforts to improve water quality and reduce emissions. Farmers have been taking action to play their part in these challenges.
Survey findings
DairyNZ surveyed around 250 farmers on the outlook for their farms and communities, their concerns, their wellbeing and environmental activities. This was compiled in DairyNZ’s View from the Cowshed report.
The most significant finding was that 62 percent of farmers said they – or someone on their farm – had experienced mental health issues over the past year. Farmers said regulation changes were the biggest stressor, closely followed by financial concerns and perception of dairy by the public and in the media.
The survey also highlighted that broadband and mobile reception remains a significant issue, with around half of the farmers surveyed saying they don’t have the broadband or mobile coverage they need onfarm.
Sixty-three percent of farmers had been impacted by drought over the past 12 months.
Farmers also raised concerns that the public don’t appreciate how low carbon New Zealand dairy farming already is, and they want to see fair emissions targets.
Your top priorities
Drawing on the feedback, we listed the top actions the government could take to improve outcomes for dairy farmers and for New Zealand in the View from the Cowshed.
Those priorities included partnering with farmers on water quality and zero carbon requirements, and ensuring they are fair, scientifically robust and have reasonable timeframes for implementation.
We also want to see the methane targets in the Zero Carbon Act reviewed to ensure they are firmly grounded in science and use a split-gas approach.
A second priority is working with dairy farmers to future-proof our sector. This includes investing in rural broadband/mobile coverage and water storage, and reforming the Resource Management Act to reduce compliance costs. It also includes continuing to support the training of Kiwis for dairy roles and recognising the contribution of skilled migrant workers.
Finally, we want to see a clear strategy and resourcing to support research that enables dairy farmers to create more value and improve profit sustainably.
Our View from the Cowshed report was provided to all MPs, their advisors and media, and it’s been getting good traction. The week of its release, media asked the Prime Minister to respond to some of its insights.
DairyNZ partnered with The Country radio for a political debate where Jamie Mackay put questions to the agriculture spokespeople from the four largest political parties. He asked about their positions towards dairy and how they would address farmers’ concerns.
It’s great to see dairy farmers thoughts and concerns become an important part of the election debate.
Following the election, DairyNZ plans to meet the incoming government to highlight the things that are important to farmers and advocate for them to prioritise addressing these issues.
- To read the View from the Cowshed report and view the debate visit dairynz.co.nz/publications/dairy-industry
