Northland farmers welcome drought declaration

5/03/2013 6:39:17 p.m.

David wrote:

All business operations have ups and downs. For farmers to ask hard pressed tax payers for a hand out in drought is like our fishing companies asking for rough weather compensation. Give us a break cockies and plan your business operation.

28/02/2013 7:24:32 p.m.

Sharon wrote:

Why are these farmers screaming for help every time it rains or there's a drought and the government come running,but they can't the working man trying to feed his family and pay their bills!!!

28/02/2013 6:33:43 p.m.

Graham wrote:

Perhaps if the farmers weren't so greedy for profit they would have more manageable sized herds that would not require the amount of water and feed they currently use. For people who profess to love the land they sure as hell don't mind leaving it dry and poisoned.

28/02/2013 3:49:17 p.m.

tracey wrote:

city or county Kiwis have lost the ability to look after themselves and be prepared for the s***t to hit the fan its always the governments problen to fix stuff which is crazy. Bad stuf happens its life its about how we deal with it and move on that is atrueshow of the Kiwi spirit

28/02/2013 12:10:21 p.m.

Kiwi wrote:

@NOTHLANDFARMER- To compare your situation with that of Christchurch is nonsense - drought is far more predictable and foreseeable in your industry than a massive earthquake striking Christchurch. Further, anybody that chooses to have 5 kids without a guaranteed means of supporting them through predictable life events is just plain irresponsible and selfish - why should I support your kids? Even if I sympathised with your particular situation I'm not convinced that farmers (and the government)couldn't be doing more to prevent this type of situation from requiring hand outs from the rest of the country. Its not as if there isn't enough rain in winter to store or grow emergency feed from!

28/02/2013 11:41:14 a.m.

Mike B wrote:

I’m not saying I don’t have sympathy for the farmers but don’t believe we should be bailing out farm owners and share milkers who refuse to pay taxes.
The government has not used tax payer money to help out retailers and importers who have suffered from the economic meltdown.

28/02/2013 11:23:58 a.m.

AaronCross wrote:

No different to them being on the dole, except farmers have all the land.

28/02/2013 6:15:36 a.m.

anorthlandfarmer wrote:

so i take it from townie and kiwis point of veiw they think it is the guys in christchurch fualt for not being prepared for such a big earthquake? just like they expect earthquakes we expect dry weather in the summer, but this year has been real bad!! as for the thinking every farmer is rich?? is that a townie assumption or what? we have 5 children and are contract milking, where we get paid on the ammount of milk we send. so if we stop milking earlier we dont get paid until october,that will mean maybe 6 months with no money coming in! ohh but according to these guys(townie and kiwi) we should all be prepared for that. sounds like these guys dont know what they are moaning about and dont know the full situation.

28/02/2013 6:06:58 a.m.

Mike B wrote:

Most farmers structure their finances so they pay zero tax. So why should they benefit from the taxes the rest of NZ pay. Many dairy farmers have equalled last year’s milk production already so if they dry of their cows due to drought they really aren’t missing out on allot and yet they are going to get a benefit. They will be laughing all the way to the bank in their new Holden.

27/02/2013 11:15:13 p.m.

Townie wrote:

Show me a poor NZ dairy farmer that I should have sympathy for because of their lousy risk management! My message to NZ dairy farmers is: If you think life on the farm is tough try living in the cities under the Employment Contracts Act!