Once upon a time we had a Soil Bureau for mapping and researching the soils of New Zealand, run by DSIR (Dept. of Science & Industrial Research). It was closed down.

         Then we had the Soil and Water Division of the Ministry of Works. They had engineers, advisers, and even a nursery for growing and supplying the best trees for soil conservation. This was also closed down.

         Recently we have had floods, slips, and fatalities due to lack of knowledge of soils and water problems. Many blame the weather but it is more than that. Homes have been built in areas prone to flooding and on poor soils.

         We once had a good farm advisory. It was a free service run by the Department of Agriculture. Then we started to charge for these services.

         The people who needed it most couldn’t afford it and the farmers who could afford it didn’t need it. That was closed down as well.

         We once had a world-leading AgLink service. This was a series of at least a thousand fact sheets advising rural producers how to do things.

         These were largely based on the latest research findings and best practices of leading producers.   Journalists working on these sheets were made redundant and the master sheets were sent to the dump.

         The Farm Advisory service was the extension link to test out the findings of research in the field and demonstrate regional results. As we have many micro-climates and soil types local experimentation is essential.

         Many scientists now claim they are having trouble getting their findings put into practice on rural properties.

         Export earnings are essential for a successful country so why are we closing down so many important departments and making many skilled workers redundant? Many are fleeing for jobs in Australia.

         We are going backwards NOT forward.

Geoffrey Moss (mossassociates.co.nz)

“Young people look forward, the old look back, and the middle-aged look astonished”

For people made redundant tell them to download our FREE book from our website titled “NO JOB! WHAT NOW?