While these were often a quick lunch or a barbecue and a beer, they have been a great way to share ideas on how to slowly recover.
One particularly hard-hit patch has been the Lower Clutha and the continued issues after the flooding have really shown how greatly appreciated the work the Rural Support Trust does.
As part of the nationwide group of events, we are hosting a sharemilker/contract milker day at the Cross Recreation Centre in Balclutha from 10.30am tomorrow.
The idea behind this is to better inform both sides of the agreements to enable meaningful discussions to happen before any contracts are signed.
Off farm, it’s been rather hectic in the Feds space over the past few months, but we’ve seen some dogged perseverance and the government step in at the 11th hour to ensure common sense prevailed with the council.
The announced delay will now give time to go over the last proposed draft plan and highlight any practical issues and allow the government to tidy up the national policy statement and the RMA.
It has been a great number of hours’ work from not only the Feds policy staff but also the executive team who, while managing their businesses along with the weather, found time for endless radio interviews, talking to councillors, ministers and MPs along with digesting the council plan documents.
But none of this continued work would be possible for the hundreds of valued members across Otago so, as a small sign of appreciation and a chance to better explain what we do, we are hosting a couple of barbecues along with Rural Support Trust over the next few weeks, one tomorrow — Thursday — at the Tapanui Golf Club and another later in the month in Central Otago.
So, if you’re a member and interested in learning more, come along — better yet, bring a mate and they can understand the work we are doing that benefits all.
