Rural year in review 2023: Bad weather and low confidence give way to hope with new Government

It has been another busy year for farmers, starting with bad weather and ending with a new Government. Photo / George Clerk

OPINION

This year has been the year of the gumboots, horrendous weather, and low farmer confidence in general. Kem Ormond saddles up for a month-by-month look at some of the stories that stuck out in 2023: the good, the bad and the ugly, for her rural year in review 2023.

Heavens opened in January

When the skies decided to open up at the end of January, no one ever predicted what was about to happen.

A fortune in fresh produce ended up being wiped out in Auckland with piles of onions being washed onto the roads and more food price inflation was expected.

Three days after the peak of the storm, fields with pumpkins, garlic, onions, and other crops in Pukekohe were still partly flooded.

The community in the south of Auckland has some of the country’s best horticultural land, and it was devastating to watch roads and fields being damaged and crops washed into ditches.

Even residential suburbs were in the firing line as the skies did not let up.

Gabrielle strikes in February

Cyclone Gabrielle had a devastating effect on farmland in Hawke's Bay. Photo / Warren Buckland.

Cyclone Gabrielle decided to make an appearance in February, devasting parts of the North Island and causing widespread flooding and damage to farms and infrastructure.

Bridges were washed away, along with roads, stock, homes, and livelihoods.

The Cyclone Gabrielle recovery effort is still ongoing with farmers still facing significant challenges.

Being a resilient bunch, when events such as this happen, Kiwi farmers put on their raincoats and gumboots and get stuck in to help in whatever way they can.

People got to know their neighbours from this devastating event.

There were many lessons learned from Cyclone Gabrielle, including highlighting how vulnerable rural communities are when it comes to extreme weather events and how, as a community, they know how to pull together to help one another.

Read the latest on Cyclone Gabrielle here.

Golden Shears glory in March

Hawke's Bay shearer Rowland Smith wins the Golden Shears open title for the eighth time. Photo / Pete Nikolaison / Golden Shears Media Group

On a positive note, it was a real achievement for Rowland Smith when he won his eighth open title at the Golden Shears competition in March.

This win capped three days of a fever-pitched return of the Golden Shears, after two years of pandemic cancellations.

Smith’s victory was even more impressive as he’d taken a break from cleaning up his property in the aftermath of Cyclone Gabrielle.

Read more about shearing and wool handling here.

Animal shipments end in April

The end of April saw the last live animal shipment.

With a two-year phase-out period, the live animal export ban came into force at the end of April 2023 but watch this space, things may change with the new Government.

M bovis returns in May

Cattle disease Mycoplasma bovis was back in the headlines in May, with a new infected farm found in Canterbury.

The Ministry for Primary Industries said after two weeks of no infected properties, one was found through routine testing.

Since the disease was found in New Zealand in 2017, 280 farms have been cleared of it.

In August, New Zealand reached no known Mycoplasma bovis cases, after the last property was cleared of cattle and declared disease-free.

Another farm was found to be infected with M bovis in September and the latest property with the cattle disease was discovered in December.

The two latest farms, which are next door to each other, will be cleared of cattle and disinfected by early next year.

Read more about Mycoplasma bovis here.

Fieldays fun in June

Some of the 105,000 Fieldays 2023 attendees who walked through the gates over the four days.

June saw more than 105,000 visitors descend on Mystery Creek, dressed in the more traditional attire of beanies and gumboots, for Fieldays 2023.

Farmers and rural people needed a reprieve from the tireless cleanup left by Cyclone Gabrielle.

Fieldays was a terrific opportunity to catch up with like-minded people and chew the fat.

This year, the Fieldays returned to the traditional winter dates and celebrated its 55th anniversary.

Well known as the largest agricultural event in the Southern Hemisphere, Fieldays 2024 is already being planned and will take place at Mystery Creek from June 11 to June 15.

Read more about Fieldays here.

Free-trade deal in July

The fuel subsidy tax that was introduced in May 2022 was removed in July.

Then-Prime Minister Chris Hipkins also signed a Free Trade Agreement with the European Union in Brussels.

As a result, bilateral trade is expected to grow by up to 30 per cent within a decade, thanks to this deal, with EU annual exports potentially growing by up to €4.5 billion ($7.8b).

EU investment in New Zealand has the potential to grow by up to 80 per cent.

Low farmer confidence strikes in August

A Federated Farmers survey showed farmer confidence at an all-time low.

Feds president Wayne Langford said farmers were dealing with high interest rates, “huge” inflation and a steep decline in both the meat and milk prices they received for their products.

He said farmers were also facing “an unprecedented level” of regulatory change that had heaped on costs, undermined profitability and created uncertainty.

As if farmers didn’t have enough on their plate with wet weather, come August, the country as a whole was on track to have its first colder-than-average month in more than six years.

The last time New Zealand had a month with below-average temperatures (< -0.5C below average) was May 2017.

Market uncertainty was cooling farm and land sales with sales in the three months to August being down 21 per cent compared to the same period last year.

And if things weren’t bad enough already, the Springboks thrashed the All Blacks 31-7 in the Rugby World Cup final - one of New Zealand’s biggest losses in test history.

Tractors on the streets in September

The Groundswell convoy arrives in Auckland, bringing traffic to a stop at Onewa for about ten minutes. Photo / Lincoln Tan

Farmer lobby groups Groundswell NZ took to the streets in September with the Drive 4 Change protest.

Groundswell’s convoy arrived in Auckland on utes, tractors, lorries, and vans and caused traffic delays for motorists.

The protest was part of a 10-day journey that started in Invercargill.

Groundswell said it had a simple political message to share “Things are bad, you need to vote, and you need to vote for change”.

Election brings change in October

The general election took place on October 14, resulting in a change in government - although it took a while to be finalised.

It was good news for farmers, as rural representation got a huge boost meaning an array of new gumboots would be lined up at the Beehive door.

Farmers had felt under pressure from rising costs of production, including fertiliser, fuel, and labour, weakening market prices for some products such as dairy.

The rural sector was also unhappy with the increasing regulatory burden, particularly around environmental compliance, and uncertainty about the future of the Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS).

Therefore, farmers will be watching closely what changes the new National-led Government makes to these policies, with most hoping for an ease in policies that will just let them get on with what do best and that is farming.

Coalition government in November

Act leader David Seymour (left), National leader Christopher Luxon, and NZ First leader Winston Peters on their way to sign their coalition agreement in November. Photo / Mark Mitchell

In November the coalition government was announced and as predicted New Zealand First was an integral part of the negotiations.

It took 41 days for National to seal the agreement with Act and NZ First and to announce that Winston Peters and David Seymour were to share the Deputy Prime Minister position.

Telethon returns in December

Co-hosts Dave Letele (left), Wayne Langford and Matt Chisholm channel old-school telethon vibes for The Big Feed.

Rural telethon The Big Feed was back in December aiming to raise as many meals as possible to distribute to families in need

The Big Feed is run by farmer-led charity, Meat the Need, which facilitates donations of livestock and milk from farmers, as well as cash, to turn into meals and distribute to more than 110 food banks across the country.

The cost-of-living crisis is placing huge pressure on people, families and food banks throughout New Zealand and the demand for Meat the Need services has increased massive.

This year The Big Feed raised over 700,000 meals for NZ food banks, after 14 hours of interviews, entertainment, challenges, competitions, discussions and fundraising events - including the Hickey Tour and The Country’s Jamie Mackay getting his legs waxed by executive producer Rowena Duncum.