The party’s agricultural and primary industry spokesperson Mark Patterson says the policy would provide a stepping-stone to allow selected young farmers to either buy a farm, become a sharemilker or buy livestock.
“Often the first $100,000 is the most difficult to get,” he said.
“It is really important because the opportunity to pick up a handpiece or putting on cups to achieve farm ownership has become lost.”
Patterson says discussions with Landcorp on the topic have been positive, but with the proviso such a venture cannot undermine its own operations.
Other primary sector party policies for the coming election include the facilitation of water storage and irrigation, supporting New Zealand brand initiatives such as Taste Pure Nature and Manuka Honey, increased funding for research and accelerated depreciation for wintering sheds.
Some of that increased research funding will be used to investigate the merits of regenerative farming, which the party says has been enthusiastically adopted by some farmers, but mostly based on anecdotal or international evidence.
It opposes using the term regenerative describing it as complex, bureaucratic and potentially undermining traditional farming systems which, by international standards, it says are already regenerative.
The party says NZ should not readily trade away its genetically engineered-free status, but it will allow AgResearch to conduct strictly controlled trials of its genetically modified ryegrass in NZ.
The ryegrass has shown in laboratory tests it has potential to reduce methane emissions, but the party states commercial release would require consultation to ensure consumer confidence in NZ food products was not compromised.
The party also wants to update the Sharemilking Act (1936) legislation, which Patterson says is out of date.
Recent court cases involving the actions of stock agents have prompted a policy to investigate licencing stock agents.
Patterson says recent changes to government procurement rules advocating NZ produced products could aid the party’s policy of using woollen carpets and insulation in government buildings and provide a fillip to strong wool growers.
As part of that, NZ First will also consider an overhaul of the strong wool marketing models.
It also aims to unify manuka honey producers and to help them boost the value of its exports.
On the contentious freshwater reforms, NZ First says it supported the legislation because of its importance to the NZ food provenance story.
But it describes some provisions as unworkable and impractical, such as resowing dates, pugging definition, the accuracy of mapping and DIN limits.
The party advocates giving regional councils more discretion and replacing resource consents with farm environment plans.
The Provincial Growth Fund, established as part of the party’s coalition agreement in the last government, funded 35 water storage projects, and NZ First sees irrigation and water storage as the biggest opportunity for primary industries.
It wants a national stocktake to be taken to identify and support those opportunities, but sees potential for expansion especially in the Hawke’s Bay, Central Otago, Marlborough and Northland.
