Science and Innovation Minister Steven Joyce and Dunedin North MP David Clark are accusing each other of playing fast and loose with numbers over job losses at AgResearch.
Changes to AgResearch's plan to cut Invermay's campus have been welcomed, but critics are angry most of its more than 100 staff are still set to shift north.
AgResearch's decision to largely stick with plans to slash jobs at Invermay has just become an election issue, with Labour vowing to overturn the move if elected.
AgResearch, in foolishly ploughing ahead with its reorganisation, has failed abysmally to take heed of what is best for agriculture, the economic foundation of this nation.
AgResearch chief executive Dr Tom Richardson has shot down a request, backed by three-quarters of union members, to put its restructuring plan on hold.
Perendale sheep breeders have entered the debate over restructuring at Invermay, suggesting the move of ''world-class research'' to Lincoln be put on hold for two years after the planned shift.
Farmers at Beef and Lamb New Zealand's annual meeting made an almost unanimous call for AgResearch to carry out more consultation over its plan to slash Invermay jobs.
Organisers of a sheep breeders' meeting on possible downsizing of Invermay research facility say AgResearch management must seriously consider the message from the meeting.
A suggestion that a company, involving various stakeholders, be formed to buy Invermay has been described as a ''nice idea in theory'' but one that would probably not work in practice.
The rejection of a call for an independent inquiry into AgResearch's restructuring plan has been called a ''slap in the face'' to the people of Otago and Southland.
AgResearch's admission it largely squandered $15.5 million on buildings in 2007 and 2008 inspires little confidence its latest plan will be a success, two former staff say.