Who'd be a kiwifruit grower? You are in an industry that once was gold, but now leaves a taste of having bitten into an overripe furry brown thing.
The cause is a bug known as PsaV and it has devastated the Bay of Plenty's kiwifruit orchards. The highly prized and valuable gold variety has been all-but destroyed and green is just limping along.
The effects are huge - not only on our economy, but on people.
Land that was once worth a fortune is now unwanted by most; businesses, families and indeed towns are suffering because of it.
In the past week more than 53 new orchards were added to the list of affected properties. Ground Zero, Te Puke, had 45 of them. That means 824 fruit producers around that town have been hit by Psa. More than eight times those in Tauranga (97) and 16-times Whakatane's total of 47.
To vent their frustration about the situation 150 kiwifruit growers met and had a lengthy session getting stuck into various authorities for what they perceived was an inadequate response to the disaster.
Fair enough too. From what I have been told by industry sources the initial reaction did not close down affected orchards fast enough and the disease was spread by a too-lax quarantine.
It should have been treated like an outbreak of foot and mouth and the entire area closed off and PsaV-hit vines destroyed on site.
No mucking around, just get in and deal with the problem.
Grower Rob Thode demanded an inquiry into the outbreak to find out how the PsaV bug got into the country. He also wants the Government to declare an adverse event and compensate growers for their losses.
Thode blames a failure in the nation's biosecurity for letting PsaV in.
"Biosecurity is outside of growers' control - growers haven't done this to themselves," he is reported to have said.
As for compensation, you have to ask why?
During the good years did kiwifruit growers pay extra taxes to help the Government against bad times? I reckon probably not. Many would have been using trusts and other devices to minimise their tax. Sure it's legal to do so, but those same people shouldn't then go asking for compensation.
And here's another thing for growers to consider. Look at how retail is being destroyed in the Western Bay. Not only is the internet ripping out profits from shop owners, but there is not a lot of discretionary spending around due to ever increasing hikes in insurance, food, power, council rates and a little thing called the Great Recession.
Can I call for compensation for lost sales in my business venture? Can I bollocks.
THANK YOU Trevor Mallard, and not for the Homegrown tickets, but for putting our focus on to just how hypocritical and arrogant many in politics are.
As a member of Helen Clark's Government you signed into law a very dubious one that made it illegal for people to sell on major event (read Rugby World Cup) tickets for a profit.
That was outrageous enough but just a few years later you have been caught scalping tickets to a sold-out music show for a very healthy profit. You couldn't see what you did was wrong - even morally.
Again, thank you for proving to us that while some are equal, some are more equal than others.
WHILE on the subject of free- market forces here's a toast to multi-mega corporates Apple and Sony which, within hours of Whitney Houston's death, quickly raised the prices of her albums.
Knowing there would be a rush on the star's back catalogue they sought even more profits from her demise. Where's Kim Dotcom when you need him ... oh, that's right, in jail.
richard@richardmoore.com