Graeme Stilwell

Sandra Hunt dreads waking up these mornings.

A Mid Canterbury dairy farming leader says it would be frightening to think about where New Zealand's dairy industry would be today if it was not for a migrant workforce.

Farmers' wives and partners are being called on to show more compassion for migrant workers' wives and families on their properties by taking the time to say hello.

A dairy farm owner and former employer of migrant workers says workers from overseas should have a return ticket home before being granted work visas in New Zealand.

An agricultural industry trainer is worried that any future Immigration New Zealand decision to remove dairy farm workers from the country's skills shortage list could strand dairy farmers without sufficient staff.

Immigration New Zealand fraud officials from Auckland are working with the Ashburton District Safer Communities Council in the wake of findings by the council that some recruitment agencies are skimming a fee from migrant farm workers' pay on an ongoing basis and illegally withholding migrants' passports and qualifications.

Timaru Multi-Ethnic Council publicity officer Kate Elsen claims abuse of migrants is an ongoing issue on some Mid Canterbury farms.

In the midst of wide-ranging restrictions governing the lighting of fires in the rural areas of South Canterbury, there is concern landowners are not paying enough attention to rapidly drying conditions.

Timaru District Council appears to be pressing ahead with its Long Term Council Community Plan (LTCCP), a 10-year plan that prioritises spending on infrastructure and services, despite acknowledging it is not sure how the global economic downturn will affect it.