Well, it has been an interesting time, globally and locally. First of all we have the war in the Middle East which caused diesel prices to double within six weeks and prices of nitrogen fertilisers and plastic products have already been rising — and will rise more. Luckily, we are at the end of the growing season and hopefully things will have calmed down by the beginning of next season. One way or another, it will affect us substantially and we had better prepare for worse to come. We were shocked to hear of the proposed 19% rate rise from the Waitaki District Council It becomes clear that we as a district have been living beyond our means for quite some time. I think that if the council asks for sacrifices from the ratepayers they should make an effort to make the organisation more efficient. They have got to make it clear on what the money is spent on and how it is financed. Not that long ago we had money in the bank: at the moment we are looking at a significant amount of debt.…