Paddock Talk

In less than two weeks our votes will determine who governs us for the next three years. They could also determine the electoral system we'll have for several decades.

When I arrived in New Zealand to do some research about farming, I had to wonder.

We had expected to be in a minority supporting the Pumas at the Rugby World Cup match in Dunedin 10 days ago but the city was awash with blue and white.

It's a worry that only about 13% of voters live in rural areas, yet more than 60% of New Zealand's bills are paid for by agricultural exports.

Greetings from a soggy Club Marama where indeed the snow was of limited consequence as mid winter is a great time for snow!

Think of New Zealand's biggest A and P show, multiply it several times, add a Western theme, inject with Canadian warmth and you'll have some idea of the Calgary Stampede.

Prior to 1987, most Crown-owned land in New Zealand was managed by the Lands and Survey Department (L&S).

Sometimes I completely fail to understand New Zealand. As a nation we trade on a clean green image yet encourage the desecration of our resources at every turn.

I get frustrated by frequent use of the term "continuing loss of biodiversity" being used to justify various decision-making and planning.

In fairytales, everyone marries and lives happily ever after.

In his 1939 essay, The Farmer as a Conservationist, the noted ecologist Aldo Leopold wrote: "The landscape of any farm is the farmer's portrait of himself. Conservation implies self-expression of that landscape, rather than blind compliance with economic dogma."

The recent political and media focus on the increasing price to New Zealanders of milk, leading to scrutiny by the Commerce Commission, leaves one feeling rather cynical.

I've got a lump on my head like a small egg; a hole in my bee suit will need stitching; and my girls are pretty annoyed at me right now, but my beehives are home at last.

Continuing professional education is a requirement to retain registration in many occupations.

As the nights draw in, our thoughts often turn to firewood. And I don't mean just burning it, but planting it, pruning it, cutting it, carrying it, splitting it and stacking it to dry, too.

A farmer recently told me about when he crashed his quad bike into a gate and flew off.

The book Eating Animals, by Johnathan Safran Foer, is at once disturbing and compelling - the very subject matter (should we eat meat, do we have the right to treat animals the way we do?) are issues of note for a country like New Zealand for a variety of reasons.