Federated Farmers: Challenges show strength

Graham Smith

It's fair to say 2015 has been a challenging year for many of our members and the farming sector in general.

The summer drought, the global dairy price collapse, central North Island floods and the biosecurity threat to name a few, were events that one would rather forget.

Still, what these situations demonstrate is the strength, relevance and focus of Federated Farmers -- a familiar, friendly face in a time of stress and uncertainty.

This edition of The National Farming Review features themes which have been omnipresent throughout 2015 and will most certainly exist in 2016 and beyond.

Water is vital to all farmers and New Zealanders and Cathy Begley who is leading our National Water Team discusses the most recent Land and Water Forum (LaWF report) and the potential impact on farmers.

No year in the farmer calendar would be complete without a yarn about the weather. On pages 12-13 we talk with farmers about the impending El Nino and how they've previously coped with such events.

One of the undoubted strengths of kiwi farmers, often overlooked, is their passion for the land and commitment to the environment.

We have several articles in this edition relating to biodiversity management and how Federated Farmers is supporting farmers through our work on district plans and the RMA-this is important and challenging.

I'm looking forward to the New Year, but before then, can I wish you and your families all the best for the upcoming holidays.

I hope you do get a chance to enjoy some sort of break and I look forward to doing my best to advance the interests of farming and the New Zealand primary sector in 2016.

Finally, it would be amiss of me not to mention our board member Katie Milne who has as you might be aware, won two prestigious awards this year (see page 7).

Katie embodies what Federated Farmers values and stands for, and we are all proud of her achievements -- well done Katie.