Federated Farmers is welcoming the Government’s new $1 million funding programme to support grassroots efforts to control wilding pines. Federated Farmers meat and wool chair Richard Dawkins says the funding is a welcome boost for the people already putting in the hard yards to tackle wilding pines. “Farmers, landowners, volunteers and community groups have been doing huge amounts of work to control wilding pines, often with limited resources. Wilding pine control is such a serious issue that Federated Farmers has made it a priority in its 2026 election platform, Dawkins says. “We’re calling for whoever forms the next government to allocate a 10-year funding stream to control wilding pines.