‘‘Have you written your submission yet?’’
It’s likely a common question at the watering hole in rural New Zealand this week and with a persistent workload on-farm, farmers are looking to their neighbours for some writing inspiration.
Lauren Phillips, Beef + Lamb New Zealand’s South Island environment policy manager, says there are some key points those writing a submission should keep in mind.
‘‘It doesn’t need to be a lengthy, complicated or scientific document. Simple, clear, easy to read and in the submitter’s own words is fine,’’ she said.
‘‘My advice to farmers has been to try doing a bit of a brain dump first and then going back and breaking it up and structuring afterwards, rather than doing it perfect the first time. There is no perfect anyway, so just aim for functional.’’
‘‘There are template options available to use such as the one on the Beef + Lamb website, which are a great start. Keep in mind, a submission that is copied and pasted word for word is going to be put in the pile with all the others just like it,’’ she says.
The official closing date for submissions was October 17. However, submissions will be accepted for a further two weeks beyond that date, until October 31.
A submission template and information about how to correctly send one can be found on the Beef + Lamb website.
- Alice Scott
