New Zealanders need to back their farmers like they back the All Blacks, National Party leader Christopher Luxon says. 

But the amount of regulation coming at the sector in the last five years had been ‘’like 10 balls hit over the net at once – you don’t hit any of them,’’ he said. 

Luxon was speaking to a crowd of about 300 people at a public meeting at the Gore Town and Country Club on Friday, where he said there needed to be a reset on how people thought about the nation’s farmers. 

“The country has got into a very negative mindset about agriculture. I want to be very clear to the New Zealand people – this is our number one sector ... they got us through the global financial crisis, and they got us through Covid,’’ he said. 

“We are the best farmers in the world, and we need to re-think the regulatory burden on farming.’’ 

“There had been a huge amount of unworkable regulation forced on the industry that was badly drafted and badly thought out, and farmers were spending up to 30% to 40% of their time dealing with compliance instead of doing what they needed to do on farm,” he said. 

I agree! 

I couldn’t have said it any better myself and it captures the local scene as I see it. My family in Auckland still swear black and blue that Labour is doing the right thing, but from outside of Auckland it ain’t so pretty. 

Outside Auckland, Wellington, and Christchurch the country is dominated by farming in all its variations, and it is understandable for townies to not see which side of their toast is buttered. 

55% of New Zealand’s exports come from farmers of one sort or another, including fish. Receipts from farming earns our way in the world and pays for all those imported luxuries, like fuel, cars, coffee, electronics, you name it. 

The government wants to tax farmers because their animals belch and fart despite the fact that New Zealand farmers are the most efficient in the world and are at the opposite end of the scale from factory farming. Come on! No-one has even been able to measure methane in the paddock where it all happens. 

If farmers are the real All Blacks, and that isn’t up for debate, then the “Player of the Year” would have to be … 

Lewis Road Creamery’s salted butter 

Lewis Road Creamery salted butter was a star at the USA Sofi Awards recently. 

The Sofi Awards are presented by the not-for-profit Specialty Food Association (SFA), the leading membership trade association in the $175 billion USA specialty food industry.  

Lewis Road Creamery won Gold in the butter category covering all imported and domestic butter available in the United States. 

That was in May 2023. 

In June 2023, just a few days ago – 

The Lewis Road Creamery butter won the SOFI Product of the Year Award. 

This is awarded to a single product annually in the US$194 billion specialty food industry across the award’s 53 categories. Butter was just one of those 53 categories. 

This is huge New Zealand. 

And you can buy this product in any New Zealand supermarket at a reduced price, to reflect its country of origin.  

Humbling. 

Keep asking great questions ...