The media used to supply unbiased honest information that was well researched...and journalists were respected...now in Australia and the UK at least they are owned puppets of their masters...trust nothing and at least double check it elsewhere yourself...it is a terrible time in Australia's history when we can no longer trust our own press...if we can't fix that?...our food chain is only one link in the horrible mess we have made...we lie to ourselves and do nothing on a daily basis...it is not going to end well...and I am fairly confident that we will do almost nothing about it (or possibly make it worse) except talk until it is far too late to do anything at all...

TO ME FARMING IS SOMETHING THAT WILL NEVER CHANGE AS FAT AS THE MEDIA I GIVE THEM A RATING FOR TRUST 1/10 . WHY WOULD THEY SAY THINGS LIKE THAT? THE BEST OF MEAT AND OTHER MEAT COMES FROM FARMS OUR FRUIT AND ABOUT 80% OF OTHER THINGS FROM OUR FARMERS MIKE

Have some empathy and respect for the farmers. They’ve been farming forever and it’s not them who crest the smokes,and fumes and whatnot that big city dwellers does. They are worse industries around. No farming. No food. Period. Just thank them farmers instead of blaming them.

We need farmers they don't get sick pay or take long holidays . They still have to work on Christmas Day it makes me mad when I see videos of idiots trespassing farmland and destroying their hard work all for the environment.

I don't think farmers get enough respect.

Farming is an ancient and noble profession. David was a shepherd and Jesus was a figurative shepherd.

We need our farmers.

I recently read (on ABC news) that just a little of a certain kind of seaweed can reduce methane caused by cows burping. We should be doing more of this kind of win-win research to improve our environment altogether!

If I have to choose between food grown in a natural environment and food grown in a lab, I will choose the natural way. I have worked at the farms when I was younger and I know how much effort goes into it.Edited 31-Oct-22 21:25pm

City dwellers contribute far more to environmentally issues

no

If it wasn't for the farmers, we would starve.

Without FARMS there would be no food.

I don't farm but l think farmer does a good job.

No its only the vegans that make it sound bad, dogooders should stay out of farmer's, way,

the media tells it like it is

Farmers do a great job considering all the obstacles they face.

The media exaggerate every story

Absolutely not.

to be honest nothing is as bad as the media what us to read, its all about getting headlines not the truth

of course not. The media would have us eating bugs.

I find it hard to believe what is reported about cows contributing to harming the ozone with all the methane they create- is this true? Love the photo..Edited 31-Oct-22 19:32pm

It is ridiculous to say farming is environmentally bad. The monolithic buildings that are now coming out of the ground is destroying the climate and the world more than farming that is essential to the lives of millions. Sheep have been part of Australia since they were first introduced and as the saying went for many many years "wealth was riding on the sheep's back " We were also the lucky country as we were self sufficient but now with the help of the media our country has fallen into the forgotten country. Greed has taken over our rolling plains of green and the beautiful flowing rivers have become raging muddy death traps. Farming with the pastures of green, yellow, orange . Orchards of many different fruits have been removed and concrete blocks of depressing walls and glass have taken over. Huge highways for monster trucks that now roam the countryside have taken over. But the media keep telling us that it is due to climate change that we have constant rain and cold weather. Look up and see the chemtrails, look around and see the lack of trees and green grass AND dont blame the animals that are on farms etc. The government want the animals for overseas exports not for us to eat therefore they are constantly advertising plant based food which we all eat anyway. Dont believe ANYTHING the media tells you - take it all with a pinch of salt. They want the farm land for the satellite cities that are coming.

No!!! Farming is part of the cycle! Let’s get rid of the media instead.

I really not 100% pin point if true or false

People have been farming for thousands of years. Suddenly, along comes the industrial revolution, machines start taking the place of human labour and, guess what … pollution increases massively in the cities! No, of course farming is not as bad for the environment as the media would have us believe. Perhaps it’s all the media people travelling by cars and aeroplanes all over the world to get their stories which are causing the problem. I know - let’s reduce the media and all its trivial and semi-researched stories!

I have seen television programs demonstrating how much work farmers in Australia have been doing for many years to address climate change. These are people who love the land and realise it needs to be looked after. but I have also heard of farmers who continually clear land, destroying critical habitats and exacerbating climate change.

Prolly a bit of scaremongering there but farmers and other industries need a bit of a nudge to get going then we will all be better off…….lol

All BS

as a farmer I ve farmed sheep beef and dairy . all buisnesses has its share of bad operators. But i can say that the majority of farmers are good custodians of their land waterways and stock . It is unfortunate that some people wait until the worst possible wheather event or disaster to film and post on social media make agriculture as bad as possible . During theses events farmers are stressed trying to the right thing but get hammered by some media articles . Edited 01-Nov-22 02:45am

NO

If you believe everything the media say then we might as well dig a hole and stick our head into it. Typical green's

No

Is the air that we breathe enviromently friendly to our Health ? Farming has been around for centuries it puts food on the table maybe the processing of food products is not environmently friendly . The farmer is set by agricultrural guidelines and if producing for human consumption new laws are in place to protect the animals and the enviroment .Farmers are struggling to say afloat. Edited 31-Oct-22 19:51pm

I agree with you Alison W. Your have put the case for farming very well.

i'd guess that the media is more hazardous to both us AND farmers that farming is to the environment, From what I've personally experienced I'd confidently say that all farmers are as committed ts natural revitalization of their land, Let's face it, farmers have a vested interest in cost reduction and sustainability.

I think most farmers care and manage their farms well. Like most there is the LOUD minority that like to be heard. We do need farmers and grazers to survive

I come off farms Cities are worse for waste, getting rid of bush for housing developments and pollution. People need an income, many farms are passed through generations. Farmers are getting more educated regarding using laser technology to avoid erosion. Bottom line The population needs food and at least ours is cleaner than a lot of imports.

Yes, the world populations should become vegan,that is being environmentally friendly and stop cruelty to all animals

If you travel behind a cattle truck you would say farming stinks

We need farms to survive. We need food and they are the backbone of our economy. We do need to take steps to help climate change but their are other ways to do it and the idea of electric cars is not one of these

How stupid are people attacking something that is responsible for the food they need to survive

I grew up on a farm and found the majority of farmers care about their land and animals as it is their livelihood. In fact I'd never heard of anyone locally (at the time) mistreating land or animals - there just wasn't any need. The only thing would be carbon emissions - I didn't see any of them planting trees, but then again land is a resource and less land means less space for livestock or less profit. I think if they paired up with an organisation such as Trees that Count that would help contribute to nice impressions. TBH I view livestock farming as more favourable than the horticulture industry as livestock generally enriches soils rather than add chemical residues or aridity.

Simply put, NO, But he who controls the food supply controls the people. We have been told we will be eating bugs though, whos gonna be farming all these bugs. Now that Gates owns the majority of farm land, wonder what it would be used for, either way its gonna put a strain on production, cost. The media are just puppets for the government,they have lost all integrity, just like the government., btw, farmers use products that have been deemed to be safe by relevant bodies, why not blame those who produce the products they use or the gov who approve that product, no, instead we blame the farmersEdited 31-Oct-22 18:14pm

A great big NO!!

Not so much these days, farmers are using new technologies to help improve their practises.

TRy being a farmer then stop your whinging!

Gumans cause more devistation than any other animal. when are the do gooders going to wake up?

Not it is not and NZ needs it

No farmers do all that they can. Just a lot of rubbish trying to find excuses for man-made problems. Look at the business who pump bad fumes into the air.

Farmers are very upset because they have gone to the trouble of planting more trees, making sure that waterways are fenced and doing all they can to save the environment i heard that some have planted different grass as well. I also heard that every lawn is needing to be a bush clad area and allow the grass to grow as it is able to

New Zealand farmers are very much aware of climate change, that will affect their future of farming. and they are doing all they can to be enviromentally friendly. The question is , Are they doing enough, together with the government ?

Farming is essential to NZ’s economy, so let’s look at a solution, rather than portray it as a problem…regenerative sustainable methods are our only option moving forward.

I went to an Agricultural high school. I think farming is quite an important sector in the business world! It's awesome that the farming industry is continually making progress with newer technologies which minimize any negative impacts on the environment.

Farming is a very much needed for our survival and I'm sick of hearing them being rubbished and abused. Put that wasted energy to better use by giving them a hand at harvest time and when the weather is against them.

We are stuck on the horns of a conundrum, aren't we? We certainly need the food produced on the farm but we can also do without the bad side effects. Perhaps science will find the answer as quickly as they added to the problem.

No farming is not bad for the environment . Farming practices have come a long way and they care for the land

The way I see it, cows fart and so do humans. 7 billion humans farting twice a day, that’s 14 billion methane laden gas bombs going up into the sky every day. The solution is simple, stop eating onions, beans and cabbage and leave the cows alone…

We live surrounded by farming land. Sure we don't like them spraying and using poisons on their crops because we rely on tanks water and a certain amount would or can get into our tanks. They spray the weeds but the weeds are still there and the crop next door is full of weeds but it's not for human consumption so I don't think they worry as much out here. We are having 2 huge chicken places opening up soon. Ones a hatchery and the other is for eggs I think. We also have a lamb feeding lot across the road and really none of it bothers us and hey we do need food to eat and some one has to do the job. The feed lot we do have next door we smell occasionally and it's a very organic earthy smell in other words cow manure. We see the cattle come and go which is sad but I still eat meat. I think now a days farming is certainly different and just the other day we planted 9 plants as our block is the only block with trees on it on the hill.

Unfortunately the media is only giving the public what the governments feed them. The United Nations with all it's tentacles needs to be disbanded. Farmers of all descriptions [meat, fruit, vege etc] need to be able to farm as needs be. The more vegetarian type foods people eat the more methane the human release. We are told not to eat processed food, what are all these meat/dairy alternatives but highly processed. Lower the human population and the planet will be far better place

no

No negatives for me. We have huge farming people in our WA location and they are great contributors to our community and Australia’s.

im on the fence with this one...its 50/50 for me

Bah, Bah, Bah Michelle.

We need our farms and farmers we all need to survive

There is NO topic more important than farming because farming, in all its guises, is HOW we as humanity survive. Whether this is large agri business or a small community garden providing supplementary support to a few individuals we ALL must eat. The climate reactionaries have tried to shift the paradigm by convincing the bulk of the "first world" teenagers and young adults that without getting rid of animal agriculture that humanity will NOT survive and that this peril is immediate! Nothing could be further from the truth because there IS NO EMERGENCY! The WEF, the UN 2030 Agenda and other globalist organisations are spending BILLIONS to convince the youth of our planet that they will cease to exist in a decade or so unless radical changes in energy and agriculture occur. Holland has been decimating farmers rights by mandating a massive reduction of methane in the atmosphere and the farmers, who provide Europe and African nations with vast amounts of food and are 2nd only to Ukraine in food exports, (but Ukraine won't be exporting produce of ANY kind anywhere this year) but now that the excellent Dutch farmers who provide a greater yield per acre than even Ukraine and are considered to be the best farmers in the entire European continent, are being forced to slsughter or sell half their herds or the government will do this for them. These Politicians are not going to starve but their people will and they, and ALL other nation states except for some slightly wealthy African nations and India, who will also keep their rice stocks for the billion+ people of their country, are determined to prohibit food production. The globalist aligned Politicians will happily let the poorer inhabitants of their countries starve to death. The problem for farmers who grow food as opposed to animal agriculture, is HUGE with respect to gaining fertiliser to grow their crops. Russia was the largest global supplier of nitrogen rich fertiliser and we all know that they aren't selling. So these large farms as well as the smaller ones cannot hope to get the same per acre yield which they would if the purchasing of whatever fertiliser they CAN get access to wasn't so difficult to access and expensive to purchase. So the yield will fall and the price per kilo or pound for fruit and vegetables, grains, oils etc will increase massively and starvation for most people in poorer African countries already suffering from the failure of their own crops and herds due to shifting climatic cycles caused by the Sun and not anthropogenic climate change! The populations will die because their governments simply won't be able to afford and access adequate food resources for their people and they are starving already! We have a huge problem in Australia, although most of the population remains oblivious to this fact, where our government has sold so many water rights and agricultural land to China at the expense of Australian farmers. Even the Australian Farmers Federation is, just like our TGA, a captured agency, working for the interests of these Chinese run farms and this food, grown here in Australia with Australian land and water, regardless of purchasing rights it's still physical Australian land, will export this food, rice, wheat etc, back to mainland China for their billion+ people. So now Australian farmers are being harassed like their Dutch counterparts to reduce methane and carbon levels, which will mean even less Australian food for Australians! We in the Southern Hemisphere also have a massive problem of a temperature drop due to the Tongan volcanic eruption earlier this year which has deposited so much ash into the upper atmosphere, and this temperature reduction will lead us to the "year with no summer" due to the reduction of solar heat and energy reaching the earth of our planet. Theres a great documentary on Timeline of 1536, I believe it is, in which the massive Kraratoan eruption caused crop losses which caused over 10 million souls to starve to death. The equivalent today would be more than a billion! By late 2023, if not before, we will have rationing cards, digital of course, but definitely coming to a country like yours sooner rather than later. If you have spare money I would buy as much food as you possibly can as a hedge against higher inflation and future rationing! I could provide ample evidence for my conclusions and I could easily write a thesis on the available data which is in the public domain, but I will conclude with this comment: does it matter if there is even a tiny potential for a degree or two rise in global temperatures if we've all starved to death in the interim period? Thanks for reading!

If it sells a more papers, more magazines and can make headlines in the TV and Radio News, gives some self-styled "influencer" - most of whom appear to know nothing- something to pontificate about - then the media will latch on to it. I remember a few years ago some regularly raised controversial issue - I think is was about the legalisation of Marijuana or somesuch issue about which people have serious and immovable opinions. "The Media" loudly proclaimed that "...a recent survey showed that the vast majority (97%) of Australians were in favour of the legalisation of Marijuana for personal use...". When questioned it was admitted that the "survey had been conducted amongst 253 people" - 253 people out of 25 million can in no way be defined as "the vast majority. It is the same with Farming. The vast majority of empty kettles are being beaten by people who have probably never, ever, been to the country, have certainly no knowledge of Farming but have read of some obscure report which stated that sheep, cows etc. are emitting all this methane. How do they measure this? Do they strap some sort of mask, collection method to these animals' mouths, noses and backsides? Of course farmers care about the environment, the land they live and work on. They may not be perfect but they do their best. Their very livelihoods depend on it and every day there are improvements in animal and land husbandry. I wonder how many of the 'activists', the journalists and other loud mouths are themselves truly environmentally friendly? How many drive those massive 4WDs and other emission belching petrol and diesel vehicles instead of using Public Transport? How many love to fly overseas to attend those talkfests? Just look at our politicians - from all sides - our Prime Ministers use what amounts to a "Sole Use" jet to fly around the world, rather than using a commercial flight which would get her/him to the destination just as easily? Look at the US President when he/she travels! They not only have a "Sole Use" aircraft they also fly an entire fleet of vehicles to cart them around on arrival! And these parasites are loud in proclaiming their Environmental Credentials!

I think this is a yes and no question for me. Generally speaking I think we in Australia produce more me than we need. Most farmers look after their animals,vaccinate them,have specific breeding practises so not to in breed and rotate their fields on their propert to avoid stripping the land. So their practises are good,but we have too much,more than I feel the land can support

No...

I was raised on a farm, and the environmental issues were never even spoken about. Farming was a great thing! The animals were well taken care of as well as the people. These weird diseases were never heard of, and people lived long, relatively healthy lives! Chemicals were also unheard of. Pesticides weren't used, and the animals gave back to the land probably more than they took from it. We had a healthy meat source and knew what the animals were fed, and they were treated humanely because they were of great value to the farmers. The crops as well were always the very best quality and farming was a science. Farmers knew what they were doing from centuries of trial and error without the use of foreign substances. Everything was totally healthy and great for the environment. Then chemicals came along with people who thought farming could easily be done by anyone simply by using chemicals as pesticides and antibiotics for their livestock. There was no thought to any bad effects. In their closed eyes, all was well! Now we are reaping from these so-called farms who thought they could make a quick buck. The livestock was simply a commodity for sale! We need to get back to basics, but I fear the damage is done!

There are 2 groups in this country who are conscientious stewards of the land. the first is our First Nations people because it's very much part of their culture & the second is farmers because their livelihoods depend on keeping the land healthy & productive. As for grazing, those who are telling us all this methane produced by livestock farting would have us stop eating meat. OK, what do we do with the livestock? Do we kill every animal off? No, the same or similar people would be up in arms. Do we tell farmers to keep feeding them? No, because they'd go broke doing so. Do we turn them loose to fend for themselves? No, because they'd continue to breed & threaten native species, so what would we do with them? I know, keep doing what we're doing because it's the most viable & sensible option, besides, I love a well-cooked steak.

Who trusts the media for being honest anyway, all self interests.

We can survive without farmers and their farms

Nope

Farming is essential in New Zealand (and many other nations) to support a strong economy and reliable food supply, the government adding new environment related Taxes on Farmers will eventually cripple the economy, Not much point having a healthy environment if a large percentage of the population can't afford to feed their families!! Edited 31-Oct-22 09:47am

Honestly, I do not feel farming is so bad enviromentally. I would choose manure for fertalizer over the chemical fertalizers any time.

They release Methan in the Environment.

I love the pic them sheep are cute as !

What would u eat if no farmed animals?

We need farming in NZ. Farmers care about the environment and carbon foot print as much as any one else.

No change in farming if the Greens and other so called experts will keep to not proving false information to the public.who believes the media, they only tell the public what they believe what the public needs to know information,which is not always true My grand daughters farm of 6000 acres had greenies approach on there land, and when approached they said no signs so we can go where we like, the best form of defense is a 22 gauge over their heads

I listen to a program on the ABC called "Conversations" 11.00am weekdays in Sth Aust. A young university student who grew up on a farm told his story. Both his parents had studied agriculture at university and in their mid years moved out of the city and started a farm. The young man explained that he was called back to help as his father had injured himself and he decided to go back and help his parents. Growing up he was not interested in the farm but during this time with his father, the father explained his method of farming. He told his son that if you start cultivating the soil naturally and you had good healthy soil the grass would be nutritious and anything above that would naturally take care of itself. The cows, sheep, pigs, chickens would be healthy, the meat would be tasty and the animals content and relaxed, stress free. There are humane ways. This is old fashioned farming done right. Nowadays they feed them fodder which contain contaminants, seeds and man made which is not natural to the animal and perhaps that is where they "fart" and belch a lot because they cannot digest properly. So we have genetically modified organisms engineered, man made and not healthy for the animal. GMO changes the genome of whatever is modified. Therefore our tomatoes and vegetables, while have bulk, they lack flavour and nutrients. Food is not what it used to be and we in turn are lacking the nutrients our bodies need so we spend thousands of dollars on supplements etc. I grew up on a farm and know what good fruit and vegetables taste like. I have rambled on and I am passionate about our planet. So it is not the cows destroying our planet. Humans and their greed "officials getting their hands grubby with filthy lucre",

No, definitely not. These days it is very difficult to believe anything, seen or heard, when it is presented by the media. The media is pushing their own agenda.

I'm not sure.

Not as bad as media portrays.

Dep-ends on the way they run their farms. Overstocking is very bad for the farm and hence the environment not to mention what it ends up doing to your top soil as you watch it disappear the next time the wind blows it away. We used to have a merino farm only about 250000 hectares and kept stocking levels to around 6 animals per hectare and we didn't remove the trees as they acted as shade for the animals. We had numerous windmills on the place for water and they worked till a mine opened up the road a couple of hundred kms and lowered the water table by 2 meters so we had to redrill all the bores and relocate the windmills and holding tanks. When we sold the farm the guy who bought it cleared every tree off the property replaced every windmill with a diesel pump and upped the stocking rate to 20 animals per hectare. Wrecked the property had all the grass die and the top soil blow away not to mention took 3 years to go bankrupt. The family had the property for over 100 years and made a profit every year where as the new guy followed the directions of "Best Practices" ruined the property and went broke. Hardly good for the environment or farm for that matter. Then we come to the animals themselves sheep are not quite as bad but cattle emit an enormous amount of methane from their first stomach and that is hard to get around the seaweed may cut it back dramatically but at this point in time it is not commercially available so at this point in time if you where to put a bunch of cattle into a closed shed and allow them to stay put if you where to light a flame at the top of the sheed it would blow up and look spectacular same would happen with sheep to a lesser extent so they do emit a lot of methane which is not good for the environment. Both also require a lot of water which in AU the driest content in the world can be problematic particularly when you allow mines to work and lower the water table and waste the water they are pumping out of the open cut holes in the ground that they are constructing and leave long after they finish which start filling up with water as soon as the pumps they use are turned off, though it does allow the water table to eventually return tot he levels it used to be but you end up with massive holes int he ground full of water evaporating off fairly quickly and they are a trap for wildlife who drown in the large areas of open water. So while most of the livestock farmers I know want to leave the farm better off then when they took it over some are more interested in profit and do far more damage than what they need to while going broke but overall I personally see mining as far more damaging than farming.

Agree with Jill C

Farmers are dependent on looking after their soil and water to continue producing. Farming is not harmful to the environment.

I find it amooooosing cows are causing climate change, not manufacturing, thoughts are like seeds you can grow flowers or you can grow weeds,this line of thinking is growing weedsEdited 31-Oct-22 08:39am

The farming industry the dairy industry and the egg industries are incredibly cruel and inhumane. For instance take the pork industry and sow stalls. Pigs never see daylight until the day they are slaughtered at about three months of age if they are lucky. Piglets are castrated their teeth pulled out and their tails cut off all without pain relief How is this farming? It isn’t it’s torture. The sows are reimpregnated until they are spent then sent to slaughter. The dairy industry artificially impregnate cows take their calves away after birth. Females are kept in pens males known as bobby calves are either slaughtered or shut in a barn for veal. Cows are milked until they are spent then sent to slaughter. Egg industry male chicks are emancipated alive female chicks kept for joying or meat. They are kept crammed in barns until ready for slaughter. Don’t let the RSPCA tick of approval make things better that’s just a revenue maker. Watch the movie Dominion.

No, general sheep and crop is fine. It’s the dairy industry that has made the headlines with all the water, and then everything seeps into our waterways and rivers so the days of swimming in the rivers is well and truly over. Unfortunately it’s all about money today. I grew up on a farm and it was great back then.

It is just the "loony left" making money

No the media exaggerates everything

I don't believe farming is anywhere near as bad as manufacturing plants they are the ones that pollute the air and are bad for the environment.

You cannot eat Pine or Gum trees.

When the lockdown happened what was people’s first worry? Could they get food! Where do people think their food comes from? We live in a small rural area where the local farmers, most of whom have been on their family farms for over a hundred years are amongst the hardest working caring people I know and are leading the district in land management. Tree planting etc. I cannot believe this government wants to get rid of 20 per cent of them. It’s madness!!!

Unfortunately for farmers as yet there has been little research into the volumes of CO2 that are ameliorated by on farm vegetation. The other question that needs to be asked is whether people are prepared to pay higher amounts for (i) farms to be reforested and (ii) farm produce to be grown under a roof by intensive power consuming plant and equipment.

There should be more concerns about farming industries with global warming and emissions in the air and the farmers also trying to make a living while they supply the needs of the countries, Find away to protect the food supply while maintaining the equality of all the food and the supply of demands. I believe the farmers does not get enough credit for what they do each season and all year round they work hard to supply the need so keep inventing keep trying to make our food safer as time goes by so we can all live on what they grow and be proud of the way it is handled and the amount of food that is contained in all stores I salute the farmers and the industries that help keep our food safe.

I wouldn't say it's good for environment but what is really? Everything has its pros and cons.

My greatest respect to the farmers. Can't say that about the media.