If you can't beat them, join them - and then beat them.
That appears to be the approach being adopted by Federated Farmers as it encourages members to get elected onto Fish & Game's 12 regional councils.
The farming organisation has sent out a message to its members urging them to "consider the value of what they could bring to a role with Fish & Game".
Fish & Game has been a thorn in the side of dairy farming since it coined the phrase "dirty dairying" in the early 2000s and has not relented in its criticism.
Clearly, Federated Farmers think that the way to stop that is a takeover. But it may be harder than it sounds. Fish & Game and its regional councils are statutory entities established by the Conservation Act 1987, with a statutory duty to advocate for the interests of recreational anglers and hunters. If they neglect that duty, then council decisions can be judicially reviewed or members can be removed from office by the Minister. That still leaves a lot of scope for dirty farmers to impede Fish & Game's job, but they're limited in how blatant they can be.
The best way to avoid this of course is simply to not elect them. As with regional councils and parliament, if you want to protect the environment, don't vote for farmers.