Damien O'Connor to speak at Taranaki Federated Farmers AGM

Taranaki Federated Farmers president Donald McIntyre.

Agriculture Minister Damien O'Connor will speak at the Taranaki Federated Farmers AGM in Stratford on Friday.

Damien will discuss key issues facing New Zealand farmers before joining MPs Barbara Kuriger and Jonathan Young on a question and answer panel.

Taranaki Federated Farmers president Donald McIntyre says he welcomes farmers from around the region to attend the meeting and expected they would have a lot of questions around biosecurity and the environment.

Donald says all those in attendance will be invited to have their say and put their questions forward to the panel.

These would include the Mycoplasma bovis outbreak, which was recently announced to have been detected in the Wairarapa and recent comments made by Environment Minister David Parker around possible herd number regulations.

Donald says farmers will be seeking further clarification about what he is talking about.
"There is a lot of talk but its not substantiated by evidence."

Donald says the visit of Mr O'Connor has been a talking point in the community and Taranaki Federated Farmers are expecting a large crowd.

The Taranaki Federated Farmers AGM is being held on Friday, May 18 at the Stratford War Memorial Hall. Mr O'Connor will speak at 1.45pm followed by a questions and answer session. RSVP to Taranaki@fedfarm.org.nz or 06 757 3423.