Lighting the ancient spear path

Posted on 20th Feb 2012 08:45 | By Anonymous Author

The Wild Sideby Brian and Claire Rogers Flounder spearing is one of those hunting methods that strips everything back to the basics. Man and spear, stalking his prey by hand, just as mankind (and some of the stroppier womankind) have done for thousands of years. Okay, so our caveman ancestors might not have had super-bright, LED underwater lights,...

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Improving workplace culture

Posted on 17th Feb 2012 11:03 | By Anonymous Author

Wendy MacphailEmployment Law Services The phrase workplace culture is a term that is being used more frequently recently. This phrase, like so many others, dips in and out of fashion and means different things to different people. When I refer to work place culture, I am referring to the particular stage of intellectual development of an organisation,...

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To prune or not to prune

Posted on 17th Feb 2012 11:01 | By Anonymous Author

Tree Talkwith Peter HaringtonWoodmetrics Regional Manager One of the questions I get asked most when I am visiting farmers with trees is whether they should be pruning their trees or not. At the moment, it is actually hard to justify pruning on a strictly financial return on investment basis. If you do a spreadsheet exercise on the merits of...

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Consequences of foreign ownership

Posted on 17th Feb 2012 11:00 | By Anonymous Author

Financewith Don Fraser Fraser Farm Finance In the early 1970s, I was a rural banker in the State Advances Corporation and the ownership model then was to go 50:50 share milking; pay off the debt, go bigger, pay off that debt, then sell half or more of the cows and purchase a modest farm with Rural Bank money. We often ran out of funding and clients...

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A summer to savour

Posted on 16th Feb 2012 11:37 | By Anonymous Author

Soil matterswith Peter Burton Eco-logic Soil Improvement Ltd It is not often pastoral farmers enjoy climatic conditions that deliver outstanding farm performance for a prolonged period. December and January have provided, for the Waikato and Bay of Plenty, a wonderful mix of the moisture and sunlight necessary to provide both high growth rates...

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Rate hike needs knocking back

Posted on 16th Feb 2012 11:34 | By Anonymous Author

John ScrimgeourFederated Farmers BOP president There was some good news for Eastern Bay of Plenty irrigators before Christmas, with strong representation helping to knock back Trustpower’s desired minimum flows on the Rangitaiki River. There’s more process to come, but good advocacy does make a difference. In that vein, a big part...

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Coping with stress

Posted on 15th Feb 2012 16:39 | By Anonymous Author

Mike ChapmanNZKGI Chief Executive Kiwifruit is in for a challenging year. The financial turmoil in our markets offshore will make it harder to sell our fruit. The very high NZ dollar will reduce the money that comes back to growers.  In Te Puke and other regions with Psa, there are many hectares of Gold 16A being cut out or orchards producing...

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Spare the dummies; spear the ‘good eatin’

Posted on 18th Jan 2012 08:56 | By Anonymous Author

The Wild Side by Brian and Claire Rogers Spearfishing is probably the most rewarding form of hunter/gatherer pursuits. Because the spearfisher is stalking his prey in the fish’s environment, it seems a much more balanced contest than many forms of hunting. The statistics bear that out. Spearfishing and diving has its share of fatalities...

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Christchurch an innovative opportunity

Posted on 18th Jan 2012 08:35 | By Anonymous Author

Tree Talk with Peter HaringtonWoodmetrics Regional Manager Government bodies, be they local or central government, are rarely known for bold decisive or innovative decisions. This is a great shame because sometimes opportunities present themselves and brave innovative thinking is required to take advantage of these opportunities. A perfect example...

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Enriched workspace a productivity winner

Posted on 17th Jan 2012 08:32 | By Anonymous Author

Wendy Macphail Employment Law Services How can you cost effectively increase your employee’s productivity by 30 per cent? If employees increase their productivity within their work environment, then everyone benefits. The business they work for will thrive, hopefully they will be rewarded accordingly by their employer and they will enjoy...

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