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Agsafe Weekly Rural Report

Media PA

Saturday 1 February 2025, 4:23PM

By Media PA

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Finance:  The NZ dollar finished the week down slightly on the previous and remains weak against the US dollar.  Brent Crude has dropped again to $76.06/barrel.  

Wool:  Wool prices remain in the doldrums.  Housing Corp will now accept tenders for carpets from woollen carpet manufactures!!.

Beef, Sheep & Venison schedules: Meat schedules are steady.  Venison prices are good.  Lamb schedules are a concern & perhaps we need a ramp up the national lamb day on 15th February – celebrates 1st shipment of lamb from NZ.  Beef prices are OK.

Dairy Prices.  Dairy prices are strong with Synlait prepared to offer a long-term milk price.  Fonterra is proceeding with the sale of the brands and many farmers are unhappy wondering how it will affect the value of the Co-op shares.

The autumn calving cows are being dried off over the next few weeks.  If you are treating them with dry-cow treatments please make sure they are very well marked and kept well separated from any milking cows.  And when they calve an extra milking for calf milk is always a good piece of insurance!!

Jim’s Weekly Rant:

My rant on the 11th January reported the Maori science research for treating Kauri Die-back.  It was difficult at that time to confirm the report, but it has since then become part of the main-stream media, but even then they have glossed over it but it has been reported on the various private platforms.  I have copied here the Youtube link as I think every sane New Zealander should look at it and see how the last government spent $4 million of our money. Just copy and paste it into your Google search.  https://youtu.be/03twVHl3NhA?si=iDKGDabW0PnxYqAo  and enjoy the 11 minutes of brilliance.

Shane Jones looks like he might just become the campion of the anti-climate change lobby as he attacks the trading banks over their involvement in being the environmental police.  The United Nations Environmental Program established a financial initiative in 2021 that saught to unite the international banks to help countries achieve the mythological Net Zero targets. The alliance is known as the “Net Zero Banking Alliance”.   There were nearly 150 large international banks that joined, but in recent weeks six of the large US banks including Blackrock have withdrawn from the alliance – JP Morgan, Citigroup, Morgan Stanley, Wells Fargo & Goldman Sach.  Their withdrawal is largely due to President Trumps initiative in taking the USA out of the IPCC Paris Accord.  Federated Farmers, and Now Shane Jones, are calling for the New Zealand banks to follow, and quite rightly so.  There are reports of banks in NZ refusing funding for service stations as they promote the use of fossil fuels – not confirmed, and Shane Jones has a letter requiring a mining company to change its ways with threats of withdrawing funding if they don’t.  Most farmers have experienced their bankers requesting environmental reports and assessments of the “Carbon Footprint”. The recent legal challenge by Gloriavale against the BNZ’s decision to cancel the Gloriavale’s community banking facilities on human rights grounds is an indication that the banks can choose who and what they bank!!  The court upheld the rights of the bank to be able to withdraw its banking services. The question is then asked, will the banks refuse to bank farming business that don’t meet the banks emission targets?  The Net Zero Banking Alliance requires the member banks to algin their lending, investment and capital markets activities with the target of net zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050 and within 18-months of joining they have to set 5-yearly targets from 2030 onwards. So, what can we all do?  I believe we should all talk with the banking staff that (occasionally) interact with farmers about their personal views on “Net-Zero” and how they might influence the bank “bosses” that Net-Zero is a scam and morally unachievable.  Most of the rural banking staff have some agricultural qualification and should understand the need for CO2 and its importance in sustaining life.  We should provide more support for the Methane alliance group that are fighting the recommendations that want to see Methane “taxed” and deemed to be rouge destructive gas.  We should all write to the politicians and see if they can require the banks in New Zealand to leave the Net-Zero Banking Alliance. If are unsure about the Net-Zero scam, get a copy of Ian Plimers book referenced below.  It is a big read but can be read quickly as there is a very good summary of 1 to 1½ pages at the beginning of each chapter.  With Trump removing the USA from the Paris Accord, Argentina doing the same and India and China not even worried about using fossil fuels the time is right for New Zealand to make a move.  Australia will follow the USA when Albanese loses the election in a few months and that will also pressure the Australian banks operating in NZ.