Opinion: Advocacy is your insurance policy

Comment: Federated Farmers is like an insurance policy for food security and farming writes Commercial general manager Graham Hill and marketing executive Mel Wratt.

Great more regulation – New Zealand loves nothing more than regulation.

Its policy creators won't back adequate funding of regulation enforcement, but they sure as heck like to write regulations for nice law abiders to follow.

Regulations don't necessarily get the publicity they should in their development or implementation time.

The only reason they do get any public airing before they become law is that different advocacy and lobby groups have people watching the horizon for bizarre, downright best intentioned - but going to take everyone to Hell - crafted-policy.

So it's time to address the elephant in the room.

Read more from Federated Farmers here.

There are advocacy groups out there that serve basically every need imaginable. But they don't necessarily have the membership numbers to back them, but they sure as heck do the work that benefits thousands of people.

This year is the Government's supposed year of delivery. Lovely. It's also the year of council elections so you're likely to see massive promises made before voting or unpopular policies held back until after the elections and everyone is safe in their wards.

So how many of you have been turning up to those select committee hearings and local council meetings to become informed about how your money is being spent?

If this column was audible you would be hearing the sounds of tumbleweeds blowing through our respective one horse towns.

New Zealand media is in crisis when it comes to consistent local council reporting and there has been a general demise of community papers so the watchdogs are not in force.

That has left a huge gap that is being filled by advocacy groups like Federated Farmers.

Without us where would communities be? It would be incredibly difficult to farm without Federated Farmers local executives and policy advisors.

What would the state of New Zealand's food security be like if people were not arguing for farming?

Federated Farmers is like an insurance policy for food security and farming.

You might not feel you see our work every day and so you might think – what's the point of paying for a membership?

But if we weren't there within weeks you would see an incredibly bleak reality.

We are here for all New Zealand's rural communities.

Support us and ensure your industry so we can continue to support you.