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This page contains this week’s e-diary national notices.
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This week’s notices:
B+LNZ annual meeting next week
The 2026 B+LNZ annual meeting, where there will be reports on what has been achieved over the past year and the priorities for the year ahead, will be held next week on Wednesday 18 March, in Timaru. If you want to attend, registration is essential. Visit this page on our website for more information and to register.
B+LNZ appears at Select Committee on RMA reform
Yesterday (Thursday 12 March) B+LNZ Chair Kate Acland and Head of Environment Policy Paul Le Miere provided an oral submission at Parliament’s Environment Select Committee. Kate and Paul outlined some of the key issues with the Natural Environment Bill and Planning Bill, focusing on areas of particular concern for sheep and beef farmers including: the need for a specific goal in the legislation to recognise and provide for food production; concerns about the role of freshwater farm plans; the importance of making stock drinking water a permitted activity; and our concerns about setting and managing towards limits including market allocation mechanisms. We’ll provide a link to a recording of our oral submission when it’s available.
Sheep traceability consultation – farmer webinar
MPI is consulting on three options to improve the traceability of sheep in NZ to support a faster response to disease outbreaks such as foot and mouth disease. B+LNZ supports making mob-based tracing mandatory via electronic ASDs as it builds on existing requirements and will require fewer legislative changes to implement. We will make a submission and provide advice to farmers on the proposal. B+LNZ Head of Technical Policy Chris Houston will host a short webinar at 7pm on Wednesday 25 March outlining the consultation, B+LNZ’s preferred position, and seeking feedback. There will also be time for questions. Register for the webinar here. For more information on the consultation see MPI’s website or email Chris Houston.
Rural professionals: please complete digital farm data survey
If you’re a rural professional and engaging with digital farm data is part of your work with farmers, please complete DairyNZ’s short (10-minute) survey to help build the first sector-wide baseline on what’s being used in practice, where confidence is strong, and where more support is needed. Take part to go in the draw to win one of five $100 Prezzy Cards, and if you’d like to share more, you can also try a short voice-enabled AI chat at the end. B+LNZ is providing support for the survey, which you can find here.
Castle Ridge Station named BFEA Canterbury Regional Supreme Winner
Congratulations to sheep and beef farmers Kerry and Paul Harmer of Castle Ridge Station, who were named Regional Supreme Winners of the Canterbury Ballance Farm Environment Awards last week. They also took home the Beef + Lamb New Zealand Livestock Farm Award, along with awards from MPI and Environment Canterbury. Kerry Harmer is a former B+LNZ Farmer Councillor and the Harmers have been working to reduce the property’s environmental footprint while maintaining a profitable business for future generations. Read more about their winning entry.
Rural Assessment Survey February 2026 weather event
Following the mid-February weather event, the Wairarapa Rural Support Trust is collecting information from rural communities and businesses across the Wairarapa – including farms, lifestyle, residential dwellings and those responsible for land/whenua. This information is critical for Wairarapa RST and partner agencies coordinating recovery, including Ministry for Primary Industries and Emergency Management, including the Wairarapa Recovery Office. Use this link: https://forms.office.com/r/cCfpYdS4Qr. Complete it by Monday 16th March and one survey participant will win a choice of: $500 fencing bundle OR $500 supermarket voucher. Please also check in with neighbours, friends, or family who may not be online or who may need help completing it. Wairarapa RST can assist where needed, completing surveys over the phone or arranging home visits.
Horizons Regional Pest Management Plan consultation
Horizons Regional Council is consulting on its Regional Pest Management Plan. If you want to know more or have a say in the Plan that directs the management of pests in the Horizons region, see the information on the Horizons website here. It’s important that regional councils hear from farmers about pest-related issues. B+LNZ approaches pest management policy at the national level – see for example this story about a survey we ran last year in support of our advocacy on carbon farming.