13/07/2021
State likely to mismanage nature – Gerry Eckhoff:
Should the people be protecting New Zealand from the Government, asks Gerrard Eckhoff.
“The poorest man may in his cottage bid defiance to all the forces of the Crown. It may be frail, its roof may shake, the wind may enter, the rain may enter but the King of England cannot enter — nor all his forces dare cross the threshold of the ruined tenement.” — William Pitt the elder, 1763.
Two hundred and fifty years later we still have people in New Zealand (politicians and the botanical puritans) who simply do not understand the importance of that statement on the rights of the common man or women to hold property against the Crown and all its forces.
The recent controversy over significant natural areas has erupted over the identification of unmodified Maori land in Northland. The use rights to vast areas of private land have been identified for political seizure and effectively removed from private control. Most reasonable people assumed that Maori land rights were finally recognised as belonging to, and the property of, various iwi and individuals who wish little more than to exercise their rights to their land just as the rest of us do, or thought we could do. . .
Australia lures NZ”s migrant dairy staff – Gerald Piddock:
Migrant dairy workers are being lured from New Zealand to Australia by promises of residency for themselves and their families.
Southland Federated Farmers sharemilkers chair Jason Herrick says his Filipino staff told him it was occurring among the migrant community.
It was also confirmed to him by farm owners he had contacted who had placed new advertisements over the past week wanting staff.
Four out of 15 of these new advertisements were due to workers leaving for Australia. The rest were because the staff had been poached by other farmers. . .
Lack of skilled staff at meat processors – Neal Wallace:
Meat processors will have to forgo further processing cuts due to a lack of skilled labour following Government changes to immigration rules, industry leaders warn.
Meat Industry Association (MIA) chief executive Sirma Karapeeva says the industry is already short about 2500 people, including halal slaughtermen, skilled boners and butchers who have previously been recruited from overseas.
The staffing issue meant plants could not run at full capacity last season.
“What is new now is that it’s been made worse because of covid-19 and the borders being shut, meaning we can’t supplement the workforce with skilled migrant workers as we have previously been able to do,” Karapeeva said. . .
US buying up our primary industries – Farrah Hancock:
United States citizens and companies are buying up New Zealand land for farming, forestry and wine-making, an RNZ analysis reveals.
Almost 180,000 hectares of farming land was purchased or leased by foreign interests between 2010 and 2021.
During the 11-year period almost 460,000ha – a little under the size of the Auckland region – shifted out of New Zealand control through purchases, leases or rights to take forestry. For simplicity’s sake, this is referred to as bought land throughout this article.
More than 70,000ha of land was bought for dairying operations and more than 100,000 for farming other types of animals, such as beef, sheep or deer. . .
Will going meat-free really save the planet? :
Independent research by some of the world’s leading scientists shows the climate change benefits of substituting meat from the average New Zealander’s diet would only lead to a 3–4 percent decrease in an individual’s lifetime global warming impact from all activities, and could risk individuals missing out on key essential nutrients, such as iron.
The peer-reviewed research paper was developed by climate, nutrition and environmental scientists from the University of Oxford, Massey University, University of Auckland, the New Zealand Agricultural Greenhouse Gas Research Centre, the Riddet Institute, Victoria University of Wellington Te Herenga Waka and the Ministry for Primary Industries. It has been published by the Switzerland-based Multidisciplinary Digital Publishing Institute (MDPI) in the Sustainability Journal.
Reducing or eliminating meat consumption is often billed as one of the most effective ways for an individual to lower the climate impact of their lifestyle.
However, methane is a short-lived gas, whereas carbon dioxide is long-lived and, therefore, accumulates in the atmosphere. . .
Farmer to donate crop profit to mental health charities after mate’s death – John Dobson:
A Western Australian farmer touched by suicide will donate the profits from 60 hectares of his crop for the rest of his farming life to help mental health charities.
Sam Burgess, who farms near Arthur River — about 200km south-east of Perth — lost a friend to suicide last week and has dealt with his own mental health struggles in recent years.
Following his friend’s death, Mr Burgess decided to donate all profits from his 52 hectare crop to two mental health charities.
“I just want to do something,” he told ABC Great Southern. . .
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business, conservation, employment, environment, Farming, food, immigration, politics, rural | Tagged: Brian Leahy, Farrah Hancock, Federated Farmers, Gerald Piddock, Gerry Eckhoff, Jason Herrick, John Dobson, Massey University, Meat Industry Association (MIA), Ministry for Primary Industries (MPI), Neal Wallace, NZ Agricultural Greenhouse Gas Research Centre, Riddet Institute, Sam Burgess, Sirma Karapeeva, University of Auckland, University of Oxford, Victoria University, YOLO Farmer | 
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Posted by homepaddock
05/07/2021
Southland MP Joseph Mooney invites Green Party co-leader James Shaw to Southland to meet Groundswell NZ – Rachael Kelly:
Farmer protest group Groundswell NZ said it would ‘’most definitely’’ meet with Green Party co-leader James Shaw if he accepted an invitation to visit Southland.
Southland MP Joseph Mooney wants to extend an invitation to Shaw to the province to meet with the group, who he says Shaw ‘’unfairly vilified in the media this week”.
A spokesperson from Shaws’ office said: ‘’Joseph Mooney is welcome to send an invitation to the Minister, and it will be considered alongside all the others we receive.’’
Shaw admitted for the first time this week that it was Groundswell he was referring to in an interview with Ngati Hine FM last month, when he referred to ‘’a group of pākehā farmers from down south’’ who were ‘’always pushing back against the idea that they should observe any kind of regulation about what they can do to protect the environment”. . . .
B+LNZ launched emissions calculator – Neal Wallace:
The sheep and beef industry have taken a significant step towards managing their greenhouse gas (GHG) emission obligations, with the launch of an emissions calculator for farmers.
Beef + Lamb New Zealand (B+LNZ) has released the free-to-use calculator, which takes information about a farm and stock numbers and applies science and data about average emissions at national, regional and farm system level to calculate on-farm emissions and sequestration.
It has been funded by the Red Meat Profit Partnership and endorsed by the Meat Industry Association (MIA), AFFCO NZ, Alliance Group, ANZCO Foods, Blue Sky Meats, Greenlea Premier Meats, Ovation NZ, Progressive Meats, Silver Fern Farms, Taylor Preston, Te Kuiti Meats, Universal Beef Packers and Wilson Hellaby NZ.
B+LNZ chief executive Sam McIvor says the calculator has been independently assessed as meeting the requirements for calculating emissions under the He Waka Eke Noa programme and agreement with the Government. . .
Fences fixed first as farmers count cost of flooding – Country Life:
Farmers in Mid-Canterbury say it could take months and cost hundreds of thousands of dollars to clean up the mess on their farms following last month’s massive flooding.
It’s been an extremely challenging situation for neighbouring farmers Anne-Marie Allen and Chrissie Wright, who say they are still trying to get their heads around the scale of the damag of Anne-Marie and her husband Chris’s farm resemble a bombsite.
Their six-hectare water storage pond is destroyed, fences are buried, machinery has been damaged and logs, branches, rocks, gravel and up to a metre of silt have been dumped on the Ashburton Forks property. . .
M bovis eradication on track – Annette Scott:
The next few months will be busy for the Mycoplasma bovis programme as it winds closer to a successful nationwide eradication of the disease.
Biosecurity Minister Damien O’Connor is confident the programme is on track to eradicate the disease from New Zealand in the next five years.
“The programme has been refined and improved, the science and practice on the ground has helped get us to where we are now, just a pocket of five infected properties,” O’Connor said.
But, he says, the next few months will be busy and crucial. . .
Farmers helping Meat the Need charity via Silver Fern Farms – Linda Hall:
Mince — it must be the most versatile red meat you can buy.
Most people would be able to come up with a nutritious meal by just adding some flavour and vegetables. It goes a long way and it’s reasonably priced.
However, there are many people out there who still can’t afford to buy enough food to feed their family.
It’s not surprising that the need for food parcels is growing with the price of housing and accommodation skyrocketing — and there’s no end in sight. . .
Scottish pig sector ‘at risk’ due to unfair supply chain practice :
The future of the Scottish pig industry is at risk due to continued unfair supply chain practices, NFU Scotland has warned.
It has written to Pilgrim’s, the processing partner of Scotland’s largest abattoir in Brechin, to urge them to stop operating pricing practices that ‘threaten’ the sector.
Farmers had ‘serious concerns’ resulting from the ‘uncompetitive price’ paid by Pilgrim’s for pigs going to the Brechin abattoir.
“The price is uncompetitive compared to alternative market routes,” NFU Scotland president Martin Kennedy said. . .
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Leave a Comment » | business, environment, Farming, food, rural | Tagged: AFFCO NZ, Alliance Group, Anne-Marie Allen, ANZCO Foods, Beef + Lamb NZ (B+LNZ), Blue Sky Meats, Christie Wright, Country Life, Greenlea Premier Meats, Groundswell NZ, He Waka Eke Noa, James Shaw, Joseph Mooney, Julia Slater, Linda Hall, Martin Kennedy, Meat Industry Association (MIA), Meat the Need, Mycoplasma bovis, Neal Wallace, NFU Scotland, Ovation NZ, Pilgrims, Progressive Meats, Rachael Kelly, Sam McIvor, Silver Fern Farms, Silver Fern Farms (SFF), Taylor Preston, Te Kuiti Meats, Universal Beef Packers, William Morrison, Wilson Hellaby NZ | Permalink
Posted by homepaddock
04/07/2021
Former homeless men pay it forward to flood hit Canterbury farmers – Nadine Porter:
They were once homeless and in need of a helping hand, so when flood-affected farmers asked for assistance six men living in Christchurch City Mission’s transitional housing were amongst the first to step up.
Working to help clear fences on Chris Allen’s debris-laden farm at Ashburton Forks, the men were inspired by a nationwide scheme that had supplied them with meat direct from New Zealand’s farms.
Meat the Need launched during the Covid-19 lockdown to supply much-needed mince to city missions and foodbanks.
Donated by farmers, the meat is processed, packed and delivered to those most in need. . .
Halal butcher shortage could cost NZ billions – industry chief – Sally Murphy:
The meat processing industry says a shortage of halal butchers could see billions of dollars of export earnings lost.
Meat Industry Association chief executive Sirma Karapeeva made the comments in a submission to the Primary Production Committee, which is conducting an inquiry into the future workforce needs of the primary industries.
This year the industry was short about 2000 workers both skilled and unskilled, she said.
“The industry needs about 250 halal butchers each season.” . .
Federated Farmers calls for support to get rates rise reviewed – Chris Dillon:
When times get tough, we all have to tighten our belts right? Unless, you’re Environment Southland it seems.
In fact, councillors have just voted to do the complete opposite, passing a 20 per cent rates increase.
Federated Farmers submission questioned the need for a substantial rates hike, called the council out for lack of detail in consultation documents, and provided alternative solutions to avoid the huge rise.
Ignoring that and the fact that only 10 of the 52 submissions received supported the 20 per cent increase, the majority of councillors voted for it. . .
Farm 4 Life givensupreme honour at KUMA Māori Business Awards:
Trailblazing Kiwi ‘edutainment’ business Farm 4 Life was announced the kaitiaki or guardian of the top 2021 Te Kupeka Umaka Māori ki Araiteuru (KUMA) Māori Business Award last night.
Farm 4 Life, an online learning platform that delivers on-demand education for the dairy industry and owned and founded by Māori farming identity Tangaroa Walker, became the seventh recipient of the Suzanne Spencer Tohu Maumahara Business Award at the KUMA Māori Business Awards. The judges based their decision on the impact Tangaroa was having on his local community using his experience and farming skills to support young people in particular, and the meteoric growth of his online community that puts Southland farming in the spotlight.
KUMA board member and judge Karen Roos (Te Puni Kōkiri) says Tangaroa’s personality and joy in being in front of the camera was an obvious entertainment factor, but particularly that “his life story, his dedication to being on the land, and his manaaki towards others” were significant factors in being honoured on Friday night. “Tangaroa is a strong role model in the community and especially for our rangatahi.” . . .
Operation cheese lollipops a most unusual snack – Michael Andrew:
Eager to discover Fonterra’s milky secrets, Michael Andrew infiltrated the dairy giant’s restricted R&D facility under the guise of a respectable journalist. The mission? Sample the cheese lollipops.
When most New Zealanders think of Fonterra they think of milk – thousands and thousands of tonnes of milk sloshing around in tankers on their way to supermarkets, dairies and cafes across New Zealand every day. They don’t necessarily think about gut-health probiotics being made from billions of strains of bacteria or high protein liquid superfoods being engineered for the convalescing or the elderly.
And why would they? Much of that stuff is being developed behind closed doors at Fonterra’s research and development complex in Palmerston North. But on the day the dairy giant opened its facility to the media for the first time, it wasn’t the probiotics I was most interested in. Nor was it the superfoods. It was the cheese lollipops . .
St Joseph’s Primary Quarry Hills create Bessie for Picasso Cows programme – Alex Gretgrix:
Students at St Joseph’s Primary in Quarry Hill in Bendigo were in the mood for painting during their latest study unit this term.
Over the past few months, prep, grade one and two students learnt all there is to know about dairy farming while designing their new bright bovine as part of Dairy Australia’s Picasso Cows program.
“We wanted our students to learn all about farming life while also honing in on their creative skills and I think they’ve really loved it,” P/1/2 teacher Nathan Walsh said. . .
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Posted by homepaddock
23/05/2021
Water plan, rates draw farmers’ ire – Hamish MacLean:
Court costs for water plan changes at the Environment Court could easily run into the millions and should be paid from Otago Regional Council reserves, Federated Farmers says.
The farmer group also slammed rates increases proposed by the council yesterday.
Regional councillors heard submissions on their 2021-31 long-term plan in Dunedin, Queenstown, and via videoconferencing in the first day of two days of scheduled hearings yesterday.
About 560 submissions were received, and about 100 people and organisations wanted to deliver their submission verbally. . .
Generation Next graduate shares passion for farming with school leavers :
As part of B+LNZ’s commitment to attracting talented and motivated young people into the red meat sector, we co- funded the Leaving School magazine received by senior school students in every secondary school throughout the country. In this story, young and eager farm worker, Alex De’Lay shares his passion for farming and advice to school leavers.
This story was published in the Leaving School magazine which gets distributed for free to senior school students in every secondary school throughout New Zealand.
Working on a farm in Southland has been a positive change of lifestyle for English-born Alex De’Lay.
He arrived from his home in Northumberland, England in October 2017 on a working holiday.
It seems nothing can stop his commitment to farming and learning as much as he can about the industry – not even losing an eye in an accident involving a firework just three weeks after he arrived in New Zealand. . .
Agribuisness career the goal – Shawn McAvinue:
Southern students considering careers in the red meat processing and exporting sector were among the Meat Industry Association scholarship recipients for 2021. In a series, reporter Shawn McAvinue asks them about their study and their future plans. This week, he speaks to Otago University student Dominic Morrison (18), of Queenstown.
University of Otago student Dominic Morrison is targeting a career in agribusiness — in between “jumping and twirling” in an all-male ballet troupe.
The first-year law and economics student used his $5000 Meat Industry Association scholarship to pay for his stay at residential hall Selwyn College on campus in Dunedin.
The price to stay in the hall includes the cost of a ballet uniform. . .
Industry advocacy far from muted!– Andrew Morrison, Jim van der Poel, and Andrew Hoggard:
Agricultural organisations are often at the pointy end of criticism.
We exist to act in the best interests of our farmers – as individuals and the sector’s future as a collective. That can be a hard balancing act. To secure a future where the sector thrives and supports our communities and the New Zealand economy, we have to advocate with government.
We all know dairy, sheep and beef sectors have seen their fair share of regulatory changes in recent times. That’s tough and we all know it brings challenges which are confronting and not always welcome.
In the face of significant proposed change, we have advocated clearly for policies that work on the farm. Are we going to win them all? No. And have the outcomes been perfect? No.
Weather adds to trial and tribulations at sheep dog comp – Hugo Cameron:
Man’s best friend has been battling through rain, wind and snow to get the job done at the national Sheep Dog Trial Championships in Southland this week.
More than 500 dogs and 300 trainers were vying for the top spot at the almost week-long trials, hosted on a farm north of Gore by the Greenvale club.
Southland Dog Trial Association spokesperson Maria Hurrell said, despite some rough conditions, everyone had been having fun.
The week had been plagued by frost, rain, “cold, bitterly” wind, and some snow – but that hadn’t stopped competitors from flocking to Greenvale from around the country, she said. . .
Mice plague ravaging farms in NSW and southern Queensland scurries south to Victoria .-
As the worst mouse plague in decades continues to ravage farms across New South Wales and southern Queensland, large numbers of mice are travelling south and making their way into Victoria.
Don Hearn owns a beef cattle farm and vineyard just east of Barham, in New South Wales near the Victorian border.
He said over the past three to four weeks, mice numbers had increased on his property and were causing damage.
“It’s certainly not as bad as a little further north, but with most plagues, they start in the north and work their way south.” . .
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Posted by homepaddock
09/05/2021
McBride leads Fonterra with the heart – Hugh Stringleman:
Fonterra chair Peter McBride has jumped into the biggest job of his considerable co-operative governance life – changing the giant dairy processor’s capital structure to suit the times.
“The issues raised through this review need to be addressed early,” McBride said.
“We have a misalignment of investor profiles and we have to avoid a slippery slope towards corporatisation.
“Waiting for the problem to be at our feet will limit our options and likely increase the cost of addressing them, at the expense of future opportunities for us.” . .
Meat collaboration benefits all – Hugh Stringleman:
Resilience and collaboration within the red meat industry underpinned the response to covid-19 and managing drought issues across much of the country, according to the latest Red Meat Report.
It is the second in a series by Beef + Lamb New Zealand and the Meat Industry Association, after the first was published last August.
Respective chief executives Sam McIvor and Sirma Karapeeva said collaboration had never been stronger and the recently renewed sector strategy was a strong platform to maximise the contribution to the New Zealand economy.
The report contains sections on the Red Meat Profit Partnership, Mycoplasma bovis, global trade worth $9.2 billion in 2020, free-trade agreements, the Taste Pure Nature origin brand, industry efforts in the environment, innovation and research and the 90,000-strong workforce. . .
Rabbits: a seaside town over-run – Melanie Reid & Jill Herron:
A small South Island town is under siege from a plague of rabbits that has taken up residence over the entire area
The seaside village of Mōeraki in North Otago paints a pretty picture from a distance but up close, under the buildings, on the hills and along roadsides, things quickly get less attractive.
The place is infested with thousands of rabbits and residents are fighting a losing battle.
“They’re living under houses, they’re living under trailers, water tanks, boats, they’re literally everywhere. It’s ridiculous,” says local resident Ross Kean. . .
Champion of Cheese Awards 2021:
This year’s New Zealand Champions of Cheese Awards has recognised long term favourites as well as newcomers among its 27 trophy recipients.
The four Supreme Champion awards went to Kāpiti and Mahoe, two highly awarded cheesemakers with a proud history; The Drunken Nanny with 11 years of cheesemaking, as well as Annie & Geoff Nieuwenhuis of Nieuwenhuis Farmstead Cheese who were named MilkTestNZ Champion Cheesemaker after only three years of commercial cheesemaking.
The trophies were awarded at a Gala Awards Dinner at SkyCity in Hamilton last night (Wednesday 05 May 2021) and followed judging of more than 310 cheeses from 35 cheese companies at Wintec in February. Chief Judge Jason Tarrant led a panel of 32 judges to assess the cheeses. . .
2021 Peter Snow Memorial Award Goes To Kerikeri GP:
Kerikeri GP Dr Grahame Jelley has been announced as the 2021 recipient of the Peter Snow Memorial Award.
The award was announced at the National Rural Health Conference at Wairakei Resort in Taupō on Friday 30 April 2021.
The Peter Snow Memorial Award honours Dr Peter Snow and his contribution to rural communities as well as recognising an individual for their outstanding contribution to rural health either in service, innovation or health research.
Grahame, currently a GP in Kerikeri, was nominated for his service as a rural General Practitioner and his dedication to rural health for more than 30 years. . .
Stunning high-country grazing farm with multiple recreational benefits placed on the market for sale:
One of the most picturesque livestock farms in the South Island – with landscape for hosting a plethora of recreational activities and stunning views in conjunction with a sheep and beef grazing operation – has been placed on the market for sale.
The Larches – located at the entrance to the Cardrona Valley some seven kilometres south-west of Wanaka in Central Otago – is a 976-hectare farm spread over a mix of irrigated Cardrona River flats, along with lower north/north-west facing terraces and rocky outcrop hills climbing up to the skyline of the Pisa Range.
The Larches currently runs half-bred sheep and Angus-cross cattle. Located at 446 Cardrona Valley Road on the outskirts of Wanaka leading into the Crown Range, The Larches freehold farm is now on the market for sale by deadline treaty through Bayleys Wanaka, with offers closing on June 4, 2021. . .
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Posted by homepaddock
27/04/2021
Farming director on SFF knew the time to go – Sally Rae:
When Fiona Hancox stood for the board of Silver Fern Farms, it was all about timing.
Six years later, the West Otago farmer’s decision to not seek re-election in this year’s farmer director elections for Silver Fern Farms Co-operative was also about timing.
While acknowledging it was sad to leave what was a “fantastic company and board” and also such an important part of her family’s own farming business — it was the right time, she said.
“I think I’ll be just be able to be pleased with what I’ve done,” she said. . .
Govt hasn’t got its ducks in a row on firearms licensing:
The Government’s focus on hitting legal firearms owners with more costs and regulations has meant those keen to participate in the Roar and duck shooting season may miss out.
Opening weekend of duck shooting season is just around the corner and the Roar is drawing to a close but many hunters are still waiting for their paperwork to be processed in order for them to hunt legally.
National’s Police spokesperson Simeon Brown says police have been unable to get on top of the situation.
“Police are telling people it’s taking four months for a license renewal and six months for a new license. But in reality, for some it’s taking much longer than that. . .
Ag export sector backs scrapping UK Tariffs – Nigel Stirling:
New Zealand’s largest agricultural export industries have given conditional backing to calls for Britain to scrap tariffs on food imports.
Britain’s Trade Minister Liz Truss set up the Trade and Agriculture Commission last year, to plot a path forward for the country’s trading relationships with the rest of the world following its departure from the European Union’s customs union on January 1.
Former NZ trade minister Lockwood Smith, who joined the commission as an expert on international trade and helped write its final report published in February, has said its recommendation to Truss to open the border to food imports from countries with equivalent animal welfare and environmental standards as the UK is potentially a breakthrough moment for NZ dairy and beef exports shut out of the British market by high EU tariffs since the 1970s. . .
Using Mandarin to meat a need – Shawn McAvinue:
Southern students considering careers in the red meat processing and exporting sector were among the Meat Industry Association scholarship recipients for 2021. In a series, reporter Shawn McAvinue asks them about their study and plans.
A Nelson Mandela quote resonates with Meat Industry Association scholarship recipient Joelle Gatenby: “If you talk to a man in a language he understands, that goes to his head. If you talk to him in his language, that goes to his heart.”
Her dream was to use her agribusiness and Mandarin language skills to “bridge the friendship” between New Zealand and China and sell more red meat to the populous nation.
She learned to speak, read and write Mandarin at high school and represented Columba College at national Chinese speech and essay competitions. . .
Defining year for winter grazing practices:
While the Government has delayed the implementation of winter grazing regulations by 12 months, it has made it clear it will be keeping a very close eye on wintering practices this year.
Beef + Lamb New Zealand’s North Island General Manager Corina Jordan says farmers should follow the good practice management advice developed by B+LNZ, DairyNZ, Federated Farmers and other industry partners and ensure they have a plan in place that identifies any winter grazing risks and outlines the strategies to mitigate them.
Based on recommendations from the farmer-led Southland Winter Grazing Advisory Group, B+LNZ is planning to hold Forage Cropping Workshops this winter, which are a component of the organisation’s recently released Farm Plan. . .
* Big agriculture is best – Ted Nordhaus and Dan Blaustein-Rejto:
In some ways, it is not surprising that many of the best fed, most food-secure people in the history of the human species are convinced that the food system is broken. Most have never set foot on a farm or, at least, not on the sort of farm that provides the vast majority of food that people in wealthy nations like the United States consume.
In the popular bourgeois imagination, the idealized farm looks something like the ones that sell produce at local farmers markets. But while small farms like these account for close to half of all U.S. farms, they produce less than 10 percent of total output. The largest farms, by contrast, account for about 50 percent of output, relying on simplified production systems and economies of scale to feed a nation of 330 million people, vanishingly few of whom live anywhere near a farm or want to work in agriculture. It is this central role of large, corporate, and industrial-style farms that critics point to as evidence that the food system needs to be transformed.
But U.S. dependence on large farms is not a conspiracy by big corporations. Without question, the U.S. food system has many problems. But persistent misperceptions about it, most especially among affluent consumers, are a function of its spectacular success, not its failure. Any effort to address social and environmental problems associated with food production in the United States will need to first accommodate itself to the reality that, in a modern and affluent economy, the food system could not be anything other than large-scale, intensive, technological, and industrialized. . .
* Hat tip: Offsetting Behaviour
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Posted by homepaddock
24/03/2021
Govt ‘naivety’ cause of crisis – Peter Burke:
Johnny Appleseed is one of the largest apple growers in New Zealand; director Paul Paynter says the current worker shortage crisis in the sector can be sheeted home to Government naivety.
He says when Covid-19 first hit the country – with many people losing their jobs and overseas workers stopped from coming to NZ – the Government was quick to claim it would provide an opportunity for Kiwis to take up jobs in the ag and hort sectors. However, he says while there has been some uptake, the reality has fallen well short of the enthusiastic expectations.
“It was just naïve optimism on the part of Government,” Paynter told Rural News.
He says people are not coming to the Hawkes Bay to pick apples for a number of reasons, the major one being the lack of accommodation. Paynter says there is a housing crisis in the region.
Drinking (milk) to economic recovery – The Detail:
When the price of milk surged 15 percent on the global dairy market earlier this month, even the boss of Fonterra was shocked.
“It was extraordinary,” says Jarden’s head of dairy derivatives, Mike McIntyre. “I’ve been following these auctions now for the better part of 10 years and I’ve seen it previously, but only in the past where we’ve been constrained.”
That was 2013 when the whole country was in drought and very little milk was being produced.
This time, says McIntyre, it is being driven by China’s thirst for milk.
“Last year, the Chinese government came out and essentially issued a directive to the public to say, to ward off the ill effects of Covid they should be consuming more than a glass of milk a day.” . .
Covid-19 vaccine: Concerns over future uptake in rural areas – Riley Kennedy;
The government is being encouraged to think outside the box when rolling out the Covid-19 vaccine into rural communities.
Earlier this month, the government announced its plan to deliver the vaccine to the wider public.
From May, priority populations will be able to get the vaccine and from July, the remainder of the population will be able to get it.
There have been concerns from some health professionals that the uptake among people living in rural New Zealand could be slow – given some have to travel a long way to see their GP and therefore don’t always bother. . .
Investing in consumers’ trust – Neal Wallace:
Meat companies are using the Taste Pure Nature brand alongside their own brands as they target environmentally-conscious foodie consumers.
Beef + Lamb NZ (B+LNZ) market development manager Nick Beeby told the organisation’s annual meeting that this demographic cares where their food comes from and are heavily influenced by digital channels such as food websites and bloggers who focus on natural foods.
They are considered a significant opportunity for NZ red meat sales, and Beeby says during the covid-19 pandemic consumers were increasingly discerning with their purchases, which was underpinned by the message associated with the B+LNZ developed taste pure nature brand.
“Consumers chose meat products that are better tasting, nutritious and satisfy environmental concerns,” Beeby said. . .
A platform for red meat’s story – Neal Wallace:
A new website selling the virtues of red meat and dispelling some of its myths is being launched.
An initiative of Beef + Lamb NZ (B+LNZ) and the Meat Industry Association (MIA), the Making Meat Better website will tell the sector’s story, and provide information and data, while reinforcing the merits of red meat.
The 150 people who attended the B+LNZ annual meeting in Invercargill this week were told the site will provide data and statistics about the red meat sector, sell the virtues of being grass-raised, its nutritional attributes, while also extolling the environmental stewardship of farmers.
Data on the site will provide a balance to some of the criticism about red meat and farming by providing information on farming’s carbon footprint, action being taken on climate change and provide infographic resources that can be used. . .
Showgirls, rural achievers shine the way for ag :
The bush has a wealth of young talent who are turning their fantastic ideas and aspirations into reality.
You only have to look at the pages in last week’s Land to find young people who are ready to act or are acting on their projects.
And they are motivated – either by issues that some members of older generations might not want to confront such as climate change – or value adding to the great contributions of previous generations.
They are doing this despite the enforced isolation of the last year from the pandemic. . .
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Leave a Comment » | business, environment, Farming, food, health, rural | Tagged: Beef + Lamb NZ (B+LNZ), Ben Dooley, Covid-19, Exlana Sheep, Fonterra, Jarden, Johnny Appleseed, Making Meat Better, Meat Industry Association (MIA), Mike McIntyre, Neal Wallace, Nick Beeby, Paul Paynter, Peter Burke, Riley Kennedy | Permalink
Posted by homepaddock
08/03/2021
Experienced operators scarce as maize harvest ramps up– Gerald Piddock:
Agricultural contractors remain short of experienced operators as a bumper maize harvest gets underway across the North Island.
Contractors have been hard at work in Northland since early February, while further south in Waikato, harvest started a few weeks later.
Rural Contractors New Zealand (RCNZ) vice-president Helen Slattery says the New Zealanders that had been retrained and were employed by contractors were fitting in well in their new vocation.
“In saying that, we do still need those experienced harvest operators. You don’t learn how to operate a harvester in your first year,” Slattery said. . . .
Red meat sector exports reach $743.3 million in January 2021 :
New Zealand exported red meat and co-products worth $738.3 million in January 2021, according to an analysis by the Meat Industry Association (MIA).
Although this represented a 14% drop compared with January 2020, there was exceptionally strong demand for beef in China a year ago ahead of the Covid-19 lockdown and African Swine Fever was decimating Chinese pig herds, resulting in a surge in demand for other protein.
“Red meat exports hit record levels of $9.2 billion during 2020,” says MIA chief executive Sirma Karapeeva. . .
Genetics gain facilitates lower cow numbers – Hugh Stringleman:
The national dairy herd already contains the calibre of cows that will be required in the future to allow farmers to reduce cow numbers without losing total farm productivity or profitability.
“We already have cows with the desired levels of productivity, we just need more of them,” LIC’s general manager of New Zealand Markets Malcolm Ellis said.
LIC says genetics are a big part of the dairy industry’s response to the Climate Change Commission’s targets for greenhouse gas reduction in agriculture.
NZ is already a low-emissions dairy producer, but the commission is signalling a 15% reduction in stock numbers in nine years. . .
Are the days of industrial fertiliser numbered? – Mark Daniel:
We’ve been encouraged to grow our own for many years, now researchers at two Sydney universities have found a way of making ‘green’ ammonia and say their discovery could provide a major boost to farmers and speed up a global push to renewable hydrogen fuel.
Chemical engineers at the University of New South Wales and University of Sydney say their method of making ammonia (NH3) from air, water and renewable electricity removes the need for high temperatures, high pressure and large infrastructure, currently needed to commercially produce the gas.
The new production system, demonstrated in laboratory trials, could potentially provide a solution to the problem of storing and transporting hydrogen energy.
So, is the day of reckoning coming for the world’s fertiliser manufacturers? . .
Why we should be using wool carpets – Jacqueline Rowarth:
New Zealand had banned single use plastic bags, so why can’t we get rid of synthetic carpets? Dr Jacqueline Rowarth investigates.
New Zealand banned single use plastic bags in 2019 from July 1.
Over 9000 people had their say in the consultation process, and the Ministry for the Environment took action. The aim was to reduce waste and protect the environment.
New Zealanders adapted so quickly that it is difficult to imagine how we could have been so profligate with plastic in the past. . .
School leavers swap lazy days for hard yakka fruit picking on farmers’ Chinchilla melon farm – Vicki Thompson:
Brisbane school-leaver Rhys Burke never imagined he would end up picking watermelons under the blazing sun on a Chinchilla farm.
Four months ago, the city-based teenager answered the call from farmer Murray Sturgess, who was desperate for pickers to get his watermelon crop to market.
Rhys and school friend Aidan Stuart packed up and headed west, straight out of school into the hot paddocks of the Western Downs.
It is hard work after 13 years in the classroom, but, as Rees explains, “if you can survive the first three days, you’re sweet”. . .
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Leave a Comment » | business, environment, Farming, food, rural | Tagged: African swine fever, Aidan Stuart, Dr Jacqueline Rowarth, Helen Slattery, Hugh Stringleman, Livestock Improvement Corporation (LIC), Malcolm Ellis, Mark Daniel, Meat Industry Association (MIA), Murray Sturgess, NZ Farmers, Rhys Burke, Rural Contractors NZ (RCNZ), Sirma Karapeeva, Sophie Barnes, University of New South Wales, University of Sydney, Vicki Thompson | Permalink
Posted by homepaddock
28/02/2021
Meat processing industry supports move away from coal, but concerned about livestock cuts:
New Zealand’s largest manufacturing industry is generally supportive of the Climate Change Commission’s draft report and its focus on reducing the use of fossil fuels but is concerned about the stated 15 per cent reduction in sheep, cattle and dairy numbers.
Sirma Karapeeva, chief executive of the Meat Industry Association, says red meat processors and exporters are committed to reducing and eventually eliminating the use of coal, although achieving the commission’s 2037 target will be difficult.
“We do need a fair and just transition away from coal to ensure jobs and livelihoods are not put at risk. However, our chief concern is any drop in livestock numbers may jeopardise the viability of some processing plants and jobs in rural communities.
“Meat processors rely on throughput of livestock to create efficiencies of scale and be profitable. The commission estimates that without major on-farm practice change and new technologies, a 15 per cent reduction in livestock numbers will be required to achieve the targets by 2030. This would have a serious impact on the ability of many processors to keep operating. . .
Meat industry calls for Covid vaccine priority :
The meat processing and export industry wants its workforce to be prioritised for Covid-19 vaccinations.
Meat Industry Association chief executive Sirma Karapeeva said the industry was considered high-risk, due to the large numbers of people working closely together.
Countries such as Australia, the US and the UK have all had Covid-19 outbreaks at meat processing facilities.
“We saw a significant increase in the spread of Covid in that workforce, which led to the closure of plants,” Karapeeva said. . .
Time for UK to ‘walk the talk’ – Todd Muller:
One of life’s commercial shibboleths is that one should be wary of going into business with close friends because emotion is always involved.
But shibboleths are meant to be broken – as we have proven with our dear friend Australia over 40 years. You can have remarkably close economic relations with mates, and it can work.
You have to have a unifying idea (in our cases, closer economic integration and freedom of movement) and the strength of relationship to say it like it is.
So, I believe it’s time to address the elephant in the trading room. The eye-watering gap between the UK’s rhetoric on free trade and its current approach to NZ. . .
Fonterra details how farmers will be paid for sustainable, high value milk :
Fonterra has released the details of how it will pay farmers for producing sustainable, high quality milk as part of The Co-operative Difference framework.
From 1 June 2021, up to 10 cents of each farm’s milk payment will be determined by the farm’s sustainability credentials and milk quality.
“Fonterra farmers are already among the world’s best in these areas and we’re really proud of that. The Co-operative Difference payment is another way we can recognise farmers, while also supporting our strategy to grow the value of our New Zealand milk by responding to increasing demand around the world for sustainably produced dairy,” says Richard Allen, Group Director, Farm Source. . .
Volume of wine on the rise :
The total volume of wine available for consumption in New Zealand rose in 2020, Stats NZ said today.
“The volume of wine available to the New Zealand market was up 4.3 percent in 2020, in contrast to falls in each of the previous two years,” international trade manager Alasdair Allen said.
“This year’s wine volume available to the domestic market is nearly 113 million litres, surpassing the previous high of 2017.”
The volume of wine made from grapes rose 4.9 percent to 94 million litres, following falls of 2.7 percent in 2019, and 2.6 percent in 2018. . .
FarmIQ adds value to compliance:
The demands on farmers to become more compliant have grown significantly in only five short years, with expectations from the public, processors and government all requiring greater accountability for how resources of land, water and people are managed.
Regardless of what government is running New Zealand, it is more likely than not the regulations proposed or in place around water and land management are not going to change significantly. New Zealand’s need to stake its reputation as a food producer delivering high quality, sustainable products requires regulatory effort to deliver on that promise.
As the demands around compliance have grown, the ability to capture data that proves a farmer is compliant in areas of environmental management, health and safety and ultimately green-house gas emissions has never been greater. . .
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Leave a Comment » | business, environment, Farming, food, rural, technology, trade, wine | Tagged: Adam Thompson, Alasdair Allen, Caroline Amyes, Covid-19, Fonterra, Meat Industry Association (MIA), Richard Allen, Sirma Karapeeva, Stats NZ, Todd Muller | Permalink
Posted by homepaddock
07/02/2021
Dismay at conversion to forestry – Sally Rae:
Among the steps the newly formed Climate Change Commission laid out in its recently issued draft advice to hit ambitious greenhouse gas targets was more forestry. It recommended slashing livestock numbers by about 15% by 2030 and planting 380,000ha of new exotic forestry by 2035. In North Otago, the proposed conversion of a 2590ha sheep, beef and deer property to carbon forestry is creating waves as concerns are raised about environmental impacts and fears that forestry conversions are not subject to the same level of scrutiny as other land use changes. Business and rural editor Sally Rae reports.
“I just think it’s an absolute injustice, it’s a crime to have that land put into trees.”
North Otago farmer Murray Simpson has farmed Balmoral, near Tokarahi, for 45 years. The property neighbours Hazeldean, a 2590ha sheep, beef and deer farm in the headwaters of the Kakanui River catchment which appears destined to be planted out in pine trees.
The property is in the throes of being sold to New Zealand Carbon Farming — the largest provider of carbon credits in Australasia. Not mincing his words, Mr Simpson fears the development will be “an absolute shambles”. . . .
Exotic plantations to have a ‘crucial role’ :
The Forest Owners Association says the Climate Change Commission has endorsed the “crucial role” exotic forestry will carry out in meeting New Zealand’s net greenhouse gas emission targets in 2030 and 2050.
In a recent statement, president Phil Taylor said the 380,000ha of new exotic plantations the commission anticipates will need to be planted between now and 2035 will be the “support act” for the commission’s targets of massive reductions of the overall carbon dioxide emissions from industry and transport.
“This decarbonisation has to be the thrust of meeting New Zealand’s climate change mitigation obligations. Anything else is delaying solving the problem. Pines are great at buying time, but they don’t cut gross emissions themselves,” Mr Taylor said. . .
Kiwi research on infant milk powder colour goes global :
A Wintec science student Rehana Ponnal has had research published in the International Dairy Journal late last year, a big accomplishment for an undergraduate student.
Done while Rehana was on a work placement at Fonterra, the research tested the effectiveness of using a colorimeter to measure the colour of baby milk powder. Rehana worked on the research with a number of other scientists, and the journal entry, published in September last year, gives positive results of their findings.
As a result of the research, Fonterra is procuring a colorimeter to continue their testing.
“Colour is measured because it’s an important aspect of a product. It’s the first thing you perceive. If milk powder was brown for instance, you wouldn’t buy it,” she says. . .
Red meat exports reached record highs in 2020 :
The New Zealand red meat sector exported $9.2 billion worth of products during 2020, an increase of 1% on the previous year, according to an analysis by the Meat Industry Association (MIA).
Overall exports during the year reached historically high levels – and were 7% above 2018 exports ($8.6 billion) and 21% above 2017 ($7.6 billion).
“The results demonstrate that New Zealand’s red meat exports have remained stable despite the challenges of the global pandemic,” says MIA chief executive Sirma Karapeeva. “That is great news for the New Zealand economy and for farmers.
We have a diverse market portfolio and last year exported products to 111 countries around the world. . .
Wairarapa peas harvested for first time in more than four years:
Wairarapa peas are being harvested for the first time in over four years.
A ban was placed on growing peas in the region in 2016, after the discovery of pea weevil.
Production was allowed to resume last year after the Ministry for Primary Industries announced the insect pest had been successfully eradicated. . .
Silver Fern Farms pulling out of contract with Hawke’s Bay’s Graeme Lowe Tannery, union says – Thomas Airey:
The union for workers at Graeme Lowe Tannery says staff have been told a large contract with Silver Fern Farms will not be renewed.
The Hastings tannery is one of the biggest hide processing plants in the country and is owned by Lowe Corporation.
Lowe Corp has interests in other agri-business companies, property and farming around NZ.
The tannery’s exact number of employees is unknown but in 2020 Graeme Lowe Tannery Limited applied for 80 employees to be paid under the initial Covid-19 wage subsidy, then 90 employees in the wage subsidy extension. . .
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1 Comment | business, environment, Farming, food, rural | Tagged: Blair Drysdale, Fonterra, Forest Owners Association (FOA), Graeme Lowe Tannery, Lowe Corp, Meat Industry Association (MIA), Ministry for Primary Industries (MPI), Muller Station, Murray Simpson, NZ Carbon Farming, NZ Merino Company (NZM), pea weevil, Phil Taylor, Rehana Ponnal, Sally Rae, Silver Fern Farms (SFF), Sirma Karapeeva, Thomas Airey | Permalink
Posted by homepaddock
31/12/2020
Tasman growers and farmers brace for lasting damage from hail storm – Tracy Neal:
Farmers and growers are counting the cost – thought to be in the tens of millions of dollars – of the Boxing Day hailstorm in Tasman.
It shredded vineyards, smashed greenhouses, dented and bruised apples, kiwifruit and hops and severely damaging buildings in Motueka.
Some say it was the worst hailstorm in living memory, in a region where recent summers have been marred by cyclones, floods, and fires. . .
Brexit: EU-UK deal hurts NZ exporters says Beef + Lamb :
The meat industry is urging the government to fight new quotas for local exporters as part of new trade deal between the UK and European Union.
The post-Brexit agreement will mean access will be more controlled.
A new quota will force Kiwi sheep and beef exporters to split their product between the UK and EU, even if one of the markets is not going well.
Meat Industry Association chief executive Sirma Karapeeva said it was a major step back in trade. . .
High season for rural theft – Mark Daniel:
Rural insurance company FMG claims data has shown that January is the time when thieves are out and about looking to relieve farmers and rural dwellers of their property.
Stephen Cantwell, FMG’s manager advice services, says theft is the leading cause of farm contents claims at that time of year.
“January appears to be the month when thieves are at their most active, resulting in a higher number of claims, but also with average values up by 23%,” he says.
The rural insurance specialist suggests there are actions people can take to help to deter thieves targeting your property. . .
Concerns over ‘rural generalists’ as doctors in Greymouth – Lois WIlliams:
Is rural generalism best for the Coast?
In recent weeks, various medics and their union have – unusually for the profession – aired their views in this paper on the use of ‘rural generalists’, a new breed of doctor increasingly being employed on the West Coast to work both in hospitals and at GP clinics.
For the West Coast District Health Board, ‘rural generalists’ or rural health specialists, as they’re also known, are a godsend: the answer to the region’s perennial difficulties in attracting specialists and GPs. But the senior doctors union, the Association of Salaried Medical Specialists, has warned of their potential to displace more highly-trained doctors, and ultimately reduce West Coast residents’ access to that level of care. What is the community supposed to make of this? What exactly are rural generalists and how safe are people in their hands? . .
Conduit for growers, researchers – Colin Williscroft:
Late last month Kiwifruit Vine Health liaison adviser and technical specialist Linda Peacock received the Minister’s Award at the New Zealand Biosecurity Awards, recognising more than 30 years of dedicated service to the industry. Colin Williscroft reports.
When Linda Peacock received her award from Biosecurity Minister Damien O’Connor she told the Wellington audience that a key part of her work involves providing a link between growers and researchers to ensure the collaboration the industry is renowned for continues.
“I talk to people,” Peacock said.
“I help people on the land understand what some of the big words mean and I tell scientists what those people want and have to know, so they can do what they do. . .
Developing a Great Pyrenees into a poultry guardian – Uptown Farms:
When we first started raising working Great Pyrenees puppies, our dogs went almost exclusively to sheep and goat farms or occasionally to guard cattle herds. But initially, we fielded no requests at all for poultry dogs.
Fast forward to today, and sometimes as many as half the pups in a single Uptown Farms litter are being sent to farms to actively guard birds. Below are some considerations we share with our customers who are looking for poultry or small animal guardians. Please note, we do currently have birds at Uptown Farms, but this is a combination of advice and tips from our customers through the years who have successfully developed poultry dogs. For information on bringing home a livestock guardian, please refer here.
1. Start with a working dog. Starting with a working pup is the most important step for whatever type of working dog you are needing. . .
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Posted by homepaddock
07/12/2020
Real meat is green – Viv Forbes:
Wandering recently through an arcade popular with the green smoothie set, I saw a sign boasting: “Plant Based Meat”.
Someone should advise those nutritional dunderheads that all real meat is plant-based. Real beef and lamb are built from live plants like grasses, lucerne and mulga, plus salt, minerals and clay; the best chicken is built mostly on seeds and shoots of wheat, corn and grasses plus a few worms, insects and gizzard-grit; and when I was a kid our bacon was built by porkers from pollard, whey and vegetable scraps.
Cattle, sheep, pigs, goats, deer, bison, rabbits, turkeys and kangaroos have a long history of providing meat for our ancestral hunters and farmers. In tough times the gatherers and gardeners collected and cultivated survival foods like wild onions, seasonal fruit, cabbages, tubers and grass seeds. But there was always a celebratory feast when the hunters returned with high-nutrition meat. . .
Meat sector’s five-year targeted plan – Neal Wallace:
The meat sector has outlined four goals for the next five years, which it says will target the sustainable growth of value and enhance people, animals and the environment.
The heart of the strategy, set by Beef + Lamb NZ (B+LNZ) and the Meat Industry Association (MIA), is to generate sustainable profits, premium value, vibrant communities and to be trusted guardians.
Sustainable profits will come from greater innovation, performance and productivity; premium value from creating and capturing value; vibrant communities from economic growth and employment; and trusted guardianship from being guardians of reputation, animals, water and land.
The latest strategy follows the Red Meat Sector Strategy from 2011 and establishes the priorities B+LNZ and the MIA will work on with industry partners over the next five years. . .
Contribution to wellbeing recognised – Mark Daniel:
Farmstrong is tipping its hat to the farmers and growers of New Zealand who have contributed to it winning two awards at the recent 2020 New Zealand Workplace Health and Safety Awards.
Farmstrong took out the sector leadership and overall honours with the Supreme Award. The judges highlighted that Farmstrong’s intense focus on the mental health of the rural community…”with a programme that seeks to engage with farmers in a relatable and authentic way, which a generation ago would have seemed unlikely”.
“Everyday farmers and growers have driven this programme by sharing their personal wellbeing stories and, with it, giving other farmers and growers the permission, confidence and practical ideas on how they can invest in their own wellbeing,” says Farmstrong project manager Gerard Vaughan. . .
Big toys for old boys – Tom Hunter:
Attentive readers of this blog – especially our TDS-infused Lefties – will have noticed that I haven’t been posting as much as normal, even as an important US election has been playing out.
There’s a simple reason for this, and it’s based on something I spotted some months ago via our linked blog, Home Paddock.
With the border closures in early 2020 every agricultural contractor found themselves in trouble because they had come to rely upon a flow of young English and Irish guys who knew how to drive combine harvesters, side-dressers, planters and the rest of the complex, computerised machinery that is the basis of modern farming. Think of them as the harvesting version of snow bums who follow Winter around the world’s skifields.
As a result of this, contractors have been forced to call on guys like me; old bastards who last drove tractors decades ago. But the call had gone out, so in the manner of the Soviet call for all hands on deck in 1941, I decided to give it a crack. . .
Fonterra forks out for Christmas – Hugh Stringleman:
The 20c increase in advance payments will deliver $300 million more into farmers’ bank accounts, more than half of it before Christmas.
The new range is $6.70 to $7.30 and the midpoint has risen from $6.80 to $7.
When back-paid, the 20c increase in advance payments will deliver $300 million more into farmers’ bank accounts, more than half of it before Christmas.
The widely anticipated upgrade for the milk price accompanied its first quarter trading results, including a 40% increase in normalised earnings compared with the previous corresponding period. . .
Brexit is a betrayal of Britain’s farms – James Rebanks:
I think George Eustice, the PR man turned Secretary of State for the Environment, was still telling homely stories about his Cornish farming grandfather when my mobile phone starting ringing. I was moving my flock of sheep down a lane with my sheepdogs and had planned to catch up with the news when I got back to the farmhouse. I looked at the missed calls then stuffed the phone back in my pocket.
Lots of people, including journalists and friends, were calling to ask what I made of the new agricultural policies announced by Mr Eustice. I guess I shouldn’t be surprised: I wrote a book called English Pastoral about how farming and nature in this country got into this mess, so people expect me to have some kind of intelligent opinion on what is happening and whether it is good or bad. And so, having read the documents and listened to Mr Eustice, here is mine.
Our agricultural policies are going to change — hugely — from what they have been under the EU’s Common Agricultural Policy (CAP). And since the tragic decline of biodiversity on British farmland happened under that policy, this is overall a welcome development. . .
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Posted by homepaddock
15/11/2020
‘Frustration and desperation’ as harvest workers struggle to enter NZ – Bonnie Flaws:
Rural contractors and farmers are “beside themselves with frustration and desperation” at the log jam in managed isolation and quarantine facilities, despite 100 new rooms being made available on Monday.
Rural Contactors chief executive Roger Parton said in a statement that the industry was at crisis point trying to get sufficient labour into the country, after suffering a series of delays and setbacks already.
The Cabinet approved 210 border exemptions for rural contractors in September but many have not yet made it in.
Parton said that unless more managed isolation and quarantine (MIQ) facilities were made available urgently only one third of workers approved by the Cabinet would make itto New Zealand. . .
Likely reduction in overseas travellers picking blueberries in Southland – Jamie Searle and Jo Mckenzie-Mclean:
A blueberry farm manager is hopeful he’ll get 100 workers needed to pick this summer’s crop but with borders being closed the usual tourists are scarce to hire.
Blueberry Country Southland general manager Simon Bardon said up to 100 extra staff could be needed during the six-week season, starting in early to mid-January, at the company’s farm near Otautau.
“We are facing challenges [to get workers] but every business in New Zealand is facing its own challenges.
“Covid-19 has made us all nervous, it’s changed the environment.” . .
Challenges of new job ‘invigorating’ – Sally Rae:
Sirma Karapeeva began her new role as chief executive of the Meat Industry Association on April 9 this year — “slap bang in the middle of Covid”.
While the timing might have appeared a little unfortunate, there was no choice and she took it in her stride.
“To be honest, in crisis comes resilience and creativity and energy,” she said.
It was fortunate Ms Karapeeva had worked in the organisation for five years and knew its membership well. . .
Genetic diagnosis life-changing – Yvonne O’Hara:
Allesha Ballard feels like her life is on hold as she waits for a date for surgery to have her stomach removed.
As she waits, life on a Southland dairy farm has become even more important.
The Dacre contract milker decided on the operation after she and her two siblings tested positive for the inherited cancer-causing gene CDH1.
She and her brother, Josh Ballard, and sister, Melissa Thompson, had watched a programme about singer Stan Walker, who had inherited the gene and later developed stomach cancer, then had his stomach removed.
Their father, Bryce Ballard, had died from stomach cancer nine years earlier. . .
Applications open for 2021 Meat Industry Association scholarships:
Students considering a future career in New Zealand’s red meat sector are encouraged to apply for a Meat Industry Association Scholarship.
Six undergraduate scholarships providing $5,000 a year for each year of study and four post-graduate awards of $10,000 a year for each year of study are awarded to the successful applicants.
Sirma Karapeeva, chief executive of the Meat Industry Association, said the awards are aimed at scholars who are looking to contribute their skills to New Zealand’s largest manufacturing industry.
“Our scholarships provide a great pathway for undergraduate or graduate students into what is a productive, innovative and progressive sector. There are significant and exciting opportunities for young people.” . .
Lambpro ram sale becomes highest grossing single vendor Australian stud sale -Lucy Kinbacher:
The Lambpro prime lamb brand cemented itself in the seedstock record books last week as the highest grossing single vendor beef or sheep studstock sale in the country.
In a year when the supply of sires has struggled to keep up with buyer demand, Holbrook’s Tom Bull and his team didn’t struggle to clear just over 1200 ram lambs across two days for an overall average of $3295 and gross of $3.977 million.
On Thursday 304 of 327 terminal and Lambpro Tradie rams sold to average $1459 before auctioneer Paul Dooley and Elders agent Ross Milne raced through 903 Primeline Maternal rams in four hours on Friday to average $3913 and top at $15,000 to Buckley Farms, Mt Gambier, South Australia.
Sometimes it took them just 40 to 50 seconds to sell individual lots. . .
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Posted by homepaddock
13/11/2020
MIA wary as second wave hits –
New Zealand’s red meat trade continues to generate crucial export revenue but with the full economic impact of covid-19 yet to hit, the industry cannot afford to be complacent.
Meat Industry Association (MIA) chief executive Sirma Karapeeva says the red meat processing and exporting sector has been NZ’s success story during the covid-19 crisis but with further disruptions in the global markets expected, she urged caution.
“The red meat processing and exporting sector has been a real success story during the covid-19 crisis and continues to generate crucial export revenue for the country when other sectors are facing significant headwinds,” she said. . .
North Otago farmers call for more fire ponds – Kayla Hodge:
A large fire has highlighted the need for a greater water supply in one of the “driest areas” in North Otago.
Last month, a blaze in a pine forestry block near Livingstone burnt through 611ha.
At a public meeting with officials last week, farmers asked if there was a plan to install more water in the area, to help fight fires.
One farmer, whose pond was used during the emergency, knew there was no water for the helicopters to use when the October 4 fire started. . .
How are you dealing with change? :
Farming into the future is changing in New Zealand to meet consumer demand – but change can be scary.
Sarah’s Country host Sarah Perriam has teamed up with Farmlands to bring you a thought-provoking seminar series at AgFest on November 13-14.
Join the conversation at the Farmlands site during AgFest dealing with change and advice on the season ahead from the Technical and Growth and Innovation teams.
You won’t want to miss these expert panel discussions covering topics specific to West Coast challenges, as well as dealing with national regulation changes. . .
Car-racing farm manager artificially inseminates more than 25,000 dairy cows in 10-year career :
It is 3.15am on a calm spring morning as Dannevirke dairy farmer Tania Cresswell slides on her gumboots and heads outside.
The 29-year-old manages her parents’ 55-hectare dairy farm at Papatawa, milking 160 predominately Holstein Friesian cows.
Cresswell jumps on to a two-wheeler motorbike, giving it a kick-start. The engine roars to life, piercing the pre-dawn silence.
It is not long before the farm’s 14-aside milking shed starts to fill with cows gently jostling for position and eager to be milked. . .
LIC invests in first of two start-ups to deliver more value to dairy farmers:
LIC has increased its level of investment in its AgCelerator™ Fund and announced its first two investments designed to deliver more value to New Zealand dairy farmers. The cooperative has confirmed investments in New Zealand-based TrackBack and Mastaplex.
Auckland-based TrackBack uses blockchain technology in the agriculture sector to provide trust and transparency through the supply chain for global confidence in quality, integrity and provenance. Fuelled by the pandemic, traceability is increasingly front of mind for consumers and the data LIC holds on animal health is an important contribution to providing quality assurances for New Zealand dairy farmers.
The other business LIC is investing in is Dunedin-based Mastaplex which has developed a proprietary mastitis testing device, Mastatest®. . .
New chief scientist Cathy Foley to get research out of the lab – Sally Whyte:
Australia’s incoming chief scientist wants to help Australia’s “fabulous” research move beyond the laboratory and “turn it into prosperity and impact”.
Dr Cathy Foley, currently the chief scientist at the CSIRO, will take over from Dr Alan Finkel at the start of next year, and she has a long to-do list, much of it continuing the work she has already been doing at the national science research agency.
The world-renowned physicist wants to continue increasing diversity in science, increasing work in national preparedness, and championing “research translation” – moving discoveries beyond the theoretical and into making a difference in people’s lives.
“We’ve got fabulous research in Australia, but everyone knows we haven’t necessarily been able to take that from the laboratory bench turn it into prosperity and impact in a whole range of ways,” Dr Foley said. . .
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Leave a Comment » | business, environment, Farming, food, rural | Tagged: AgFest, Ben Dooley, Brian Leahy, CSIRO, Dr Alan Finkel, Dr Cathy Foley, Farmlands, Kayla Hodge, LIC, Mastaplex, Mastatest®, Meat Industry Association (MIA), Sarah Perriam, Sirma Karapeeva, Tania Cresswell, TrackBack | Permalink
Posted by homepaddock
11/10/2020
Meat processing and exporting jobs in jeopardy unless specialist migrants are allowed to remain :
New Zealand’s meat processing and exporting sector faces being forced to limit production and let people go unless the Government recognises the essential role of its skilled migrant workforce.
Around a third of the country’s 250 essential halal processing workers, who help generate more than $3 billion in export earnings every year, will have to leave New Zealand next year due to the Government’s one-year stand-down policy.
Sirma Karapeeva, chief executive of the Meat Industry Association (MIA), said the loss of halal processing people — alongside hundreds of other essential meat workers — could result in reduced production and job losses in the sector, which is New Zealand’s largest manufacturing industry.
“Most of the 42 halal processing plants in New Zealand now operate between 10-12 months per year. A shortage of skilled halal processing people could result in production at many plants being limited to six months in the year, which would mean processing of livestock for farmers is severely disrupted and employees might be let go. . .
Breeding beef to reduce N leaching :
Ben and Yvonne Lee weren’t born into farming but have taken it up with vigour.
They run Bluestone Herefords, 30 minutes inland from Timaru, on 600ha of tussock and rolling foothills, ranging from 300-550 metres altitude. The South Canterbury farm will mate about 300 cows this season.
Yvonne, once a police officer, manages the farm day-to-day while Ben, formerly a lawyer, runs an animal health firm in Timaru. As stud owners, their cattle genetics are based squarely on client demand, typified by a growing call for cattle with low nitrogen output. . .
Dairy data should delight Covid recovery monitors while discouraging industry detractors – Point of Order:
Farmers are back in the frame as the backbone of NZ’s export economy, after the Covid-induced collapse of the foreign exchange earning capacity of the tourist and international education industries. But it is not only the rural industries themselves which are scrutinising bulletins on the prices being earned abroad for commodities. Those data have become a vital item for New Zealanders eager to monitor the recovery of an economy battered by a one-in -100 year event.
This week the ANZ reported its world commodity price index had eased 0.2% in September as lower dairy and meat prices were largely offset by stronger prices for logs and fruit.
In local currency terms the index fell 1.3% as the NZ$ strengthened by 0.6% on a trade weighted index basis during the month.
Hard on the heels of those figures came the results of the latest Fonterra global dairy trade auction where the average price strengthened to $US3143 a tonne and wholemilk powder (which plays a significant role on Fonterra’s payout to suppliers) rose 1.7% to $3041 a tonne. . .
Clinton Young Farmer wins Otago contest – Yvonne O’Hara:
The Otago district skills final for the FMG Young Farmer of the Year competition was contested at Gimmberburn on Saturday.
Organised by the Maniototo Young Farmers Club, the competition attracted 10 entrants who completed 10 modules and later a quiz round.
The winner was George Blyth, of Clinton, with Josh Johanson, of Ida Valley, second, Adam Callaghan, of St Bathans, third and Matt Sullivan, of Oturehua, was fourth.
Club chairman Josh Harrex said the top four would go forward to compete in the regional final in Southland in March. . .
Primary Industries NZ Awards finalists named:
Judges faced tough decisions choosing finalists for the Primary Industries New Zealand Awards, with no shortage of contenders.
The six independent judges deliberated over 40 nominations across the six award categories for the second annual PINZ awards, which are to be held at Te Papa Tongarewa in Wellington on November 23.
“More than ever New Zealand needs the primary sector to be innovative and enterprising,” Federated Farmers Chief Executive Terry Copeland says.
“For our farmers, growers, foresters and fishers to continue to be at the top of their game as producers of quality goods exported to the world, we need suppliers and support agencies of the calibre of these finalists who can help us with cutting-edge technology and back-up.”
The finalists are: . .
Piper in the paddock – Toni Williams:
The skirl of the pipes can be heard among the cows in Lagmhor as dairy farmer Joseph Williams plays a warm-up tune to his captive audience.
The cows are unfazed and continue grazing.
Mr Williams learned to play the bagpipes during his primary school years in his homeland of Scotland and, since relocating to New Zealand for work opportunities, has taken up with the Ashburton Pipe Band.
“There is a strong music culture at school,” he said, and the bagpipes were taken up in primary and secondary school, first learning finger movements on a practice chanter (similar to a recorder) before advancing to the bagpipes.
Mr Williams admits he wasn’t as committed to the bagpipes as he should have been through his teenage years and then flatting while at university in Aberdeen, Scotland. . .
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Leave a Comment » | business, environment, Farming, food, politics, rural | Tagged: Adam Callaghan, Ben Lee, Bluestone Herefords, dairy, Federated Farmers, George Blyth, GlobalDairyTrade (GDT), halal processing, Joseph Williams, Josh Harrex, Josh Johanson, Maniototo Young Farmers Club, Matt Sullivan, Meat Industry Association (MIA), Nikita Garner, Point of Order, Primary Industries NZ (PINZ) Awards, Sirma Karapeeva, Toni Williams, Yvonne Lee | Permalink
Posted by homepaddock
08/10/2020
Changes just don’t add up :
Farmer Jane Smith claims that farmers find comments from David Parker, Damien O’Connor and the Green Party’s James Shaw nauseating.
“This is our licence to operate with our global trading partners and will attract added-value premiums,” she says.
“This lacks any metric or rationale,” says Smith. “We are creating our own hurdles at a rate higher than any other primary producer in the world. For every dollar spent on food worldwide, the farmer receives on average, less than 10 cents.”
This is a topic of discussion Smith often has with offshore peers around the Global Farmer Roundtable. . .
Critic calls for major investigation into freshwater reforms :
Award-winning, environmentally-focused farmer Jane Smith wonders whether she’s farming in North Otago or North Korea.
She is calling for a full review into the process behind Ministry for the Environment’s (MfE) Fresh Water National Policy Statement – particularly around the recent legislation for winter grazing practices and land use categorised solely on slope.
“The public have been sold a sanitised version of the truth and are going to pay an unacceptable price for what I suggest is effectively an abuse of legislative power,” she told Rural News.
While Smith is opposed to the punitive regulations in their current form, it is the process that she is challenging – rather than the outcome itself. She says her time in a myriad of governance roles have shown the importance of transparency in procedure behind every decision. . .
Fonterra sells farms in China to reduce debt get back to basics – Point of Order:
Dairy giant Fonterra has scooped in $555 million by selling its China farms and is now aiming to unload its yogurt business, a partnership with Nestle, located in Brazil, as it pursues its strategy of seeking greater value, rather than volume, in its business.
Fonterra CEO Miles Hurrell conceded the China farm business
“ … has been a tough journey for us along the way, we had to take an impairment to that asset in 2019 and again in 2020 so certainly they haven’t been as operationally effective as we would have liked. That said, we have made significant progress of late and that’s put us in a better position to sell these assets.”
Fonterra is expected to use the proceeds to pay down debt which under Hurrell’s watch has already been trimmed in the past year to $4.7bn after peaking at $7.1bn. . .
Lift in sheepmeat exports to Europe and UK shows importance of retaining WTO tariff quota:
New Zealand sheepmeat exports rose 12 per cent by volume and five per cent by value in August compared to a year ago, according to an analysis by the Meat Industry Association (MIA).
A fall in sheepmeat exports to China (-13% by value) was offset by a significant increase in demand from the UK and Europe despite the uncertainty of the fast-approaching Brexit.
A total of 2,044 tonnes of sheepmeat was exported to the UK in August 2020, a 43 per cent increase on August 2019. Exports to the Netherlands rose by 80 per cent and to Germany by 30 per cent. France and Belgium also saw increases. . .
New Zealand’s first plant-based milk bottle lands on shelves:
Anchor has added to its Blue range, with a new 2L bottle made from sugarcane – which is a natural, renewable and sustainably sourced material
-
- The new bottle is an example of sustainable packaging which research indicates is increasingly important to consumers.
Anchor is set to launch New Zealand’s first plant-based milk bottle which is 100% kerbside recyclable, and aligns with Fonterra’s commitment to have all packaging reusable, recyclable or compostable by 2025.
Anchor Blue 2L in the new plant-based bottle will land on shelves across New Zealand’s North Island from October 13th. And while it’s still filled with the same fresh NZ dairy milk from Fonterra farmers – the bottle is made from sugarcane. . .
Stahmann Farms plants close to 40,000 more pecan trees at Pallamallawa property near Moree – Sophie Harris:
Trawalla has well and truly cemented its place as the largest pecan nut farm in the southern hemisphere, with close to 40,000 more pecan trees planted at the Pallamallawa property in north west NSW over the past few weeks.
A total of 39,000 pecan trees have been planted on 195 hectares of Trawalla’s neighbouring property, Long Creek, over the past five weeks.
This brings the total number of trees in the ground on Stahmann Farms’ Pallamallawa operation, including Trawalla, Red Bank and Loch Lomond, to 150,000. . .
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Leave a Comment » | business, environment, Farming, food, rural | Tagged: Anchor, Blair Drysdale, Damien O'Connor, David Parker, Fonterra, James Shaw, Jane Smith, Meat Industry Association (MIA), Ministry for the Environment’s (MfE), National Policy Statement for Fresh Water, Point of Order, Rural News, Sam West, Sophie Harris, Stahmann Farms, Trawalla | Permalink
Posted by homepaddock
29/09/2020
Southland Federated Farmers plan ‘town and country’ hui over freshwater rules – Rachael Kelly:
Southland’s farmers are being encouraged to drive their (road registered) tractors or utes to a ‘town and country hui’ being organised to inform people about the new freshwater regulations – and townies are invited too.
Southland Federated Farmers and the Southland Chamber of Commerce are hosting the hui at Queen’s Park in Invercargill on October 9, to ‘’bring town and country together over something that affects us all,’’ Southland Federated Farmers president Geoff Young said.
“This isn’t just about farmers. We all live off the land, so this will bring town and country together to highlight some of the concerns farmers have about the new freshwater rules are, and what the ramifications are for us all.” . .
How agritech can provide the green shoots for NZ’s post-Covid economic recovery – Wayne McNee:
In the wake of Covid-19, New Zealand should be focusing on industries that can help drive our economic recovery and growth over time.
While some of our key sectors have been hit hard, the dairy industry, and wider food sector, is well-positioned to continue to deliver for Kiwis through Covid-19 and help our economy get back on its feet.
But like all sectors, particularly at the moment, the dairy industry needs to keep evolving to meet new challenges head-on and maximise new opportunities.
With Kiwis relying on the primary sector to help lead them out of this crisis, agritech has a vital role to play. . .
$50m commitment not enough for farmers — National:
Labour’s $50 million commitment to support integrated farm planning will do little for farmers, claims National’s ag spokesperson David Bennett.
He says Labour doesn’t back farmers and today’s announcement will do little to ease burden of meeting regulations.
“Today’s promises around farm environment plans will do little to alleviate the individual farm cost and won’t necessarily mean that there will be a streamlined process for all farmers,” says Bennett.
“Labour can’t be trusted to deliver reasonable and rational rules when farmers know the true intentions of their party.“. . .
Cow-shy hairdresser now cutting it – Yvonne O’Hara:
Before she met her dairy farmer partner, hairdresser Ashleigh Sinclair did not own a pair of gumboots and was scared of cows.
Now she co-owns 20.
She spends most weekends with Clint Cummings on his family’s 106ha, 230-cow Wyndham dairy farm.
“I started off being petrified of cows, and going out on the farm was a challenge for me, but now I’ve seen how friendly they are and I love spending time with them. . .
Scholarship opportunity firms up career – Yvonne O’Hara:
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1 Comment | business, environment, Farming, food, rural | Tagged: AgritTech, Ashleigh Sinclair, Clint Cummings, David Bennett, Dr Fleur Maseyk, Ella Zwagerman, Federated Farmers, Geoff Young, Labour Party, Meat Industry Association (MIA), Murray Smith, NZ National Party, Rachael Kelly, Roger Harrabin, Sophie Barnes, The Catalyst Group, Wayne McNee, Yvonne O'Hara | Permalink
Posted by homepaddock
08/08/2020
Expect increased rates costs from new government freshwater laws:
The government’s new freshwater laws, signed off this week, have the potential to create significant unnecessary costs for ratepayers, farmers and entire communities, Federated Farmers says.
“We all want good water quality, that’s why farmers and growers have been spending time and money for decades doing all they can on-farm,” Feds water spokesperson Chris Allen says.
“Millions of trees, hundreds of miles of fencing, sediment management, nitrogen controls … all these things are improving rural water quality.”
While there is still a good deal of detail Federated Farmers is working through to get a better understanding of to communicate to its members, “we do have concerns around the wording of the National Policy Statement. . .
Red meat exports record seven percent increase year on year :
New Zealand’s red meat sector exported $9.4 billion of sheepmeat, beef and co-products for the year ending June 2020, according to the latest analysis by the Meat Industry Association (MIA).
Despite the disruptions caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, the sector saw an increase of $639 million – or seven per cent – compared to the year ending June 2019.
China remained the largest market for the year ending June 2020, accounting for $3.7 billion of New Zealand’s red meat exports. This was an increase of 24 per cent on the previous June year – and was partly driven by China’s demand for red meat protein as a result of the impact of African Swine Fever. . .
More hands needed for milk processing – Hugh Stringleman:
Fonterra has made a strong start to the dairy season and has more than 150 seasonal vacancies in its processing division spread throughout the country, director of manufacturing, Alan van der Nagel says.
The processing jobs at 30 manufacturing sites are among 770 current vacancies throughout Fonterra, including corporate roles, technicians, field staff and working in the Farm Source stores.
“We do gear up for the peak milk processing demand and we are looking for a wide range of skills and abilities,” van der Nagel said.
“We give the appropriate training and there are opportunities for re-skilling at a time when a lot of people are out of work.” . .
HortNZ welcomes Govt’s recognition of the importance of vegetable growing in NZ in freshwater decisions:
Horticulture New Zealand is welcoming recognition of the importance of vegetable growing in the Government’s new national direction on freshwater management.
‘HortNZ has worked with growers in Pukekohe and Horowhenua to demonstrate to central and local government that modern vegetable growing techniques dramatically reduce environmental impact,’ says HortNZ Chief Executive, Mike Chapman.
‘Over the past decade, vegetable growers across New Zealand have been taking practical steps to reduce environmental impact through precision irrigation and fertilizer application, sediment traps and buffer zones, retiring land, and riparian planting. . .
NZ apple industry on track to become a billion dollar export business :
New Zealand Apples and Pears Inc (NZAPI), the representative industry body for the apple, pear and nashi industry, held its Annual General Meeting (AGM) in Hastings today, with members joining from around the country’s growing regions via Zoom.
With NZAPI’s financial year ending 31 March 2020, the published results were for the 2019 growing season and 2019/20 selling season, meaning that they reflect trading conditions pre- COVID-19.
Gross volume for the 2019/20 crop reached 566,200 metric tonnes (mT), similar to the previous year. The proportion of the crop that is exported rose 5 percent to 395,000 mT. . .
Resilient Ravensdown responds with strong $69m profit – returning $68 million to farming:
After ensuring essential food-creating nutrients kept flowing during the pandemic, Ravensdown has recorded a profit from continuing operations and before tax, rebate and an earlier issue of bonus shares of $69 million (2019: $52m).
Returning a total of $68 million to its eligible farmer shareholders, the co-operative is confident in its financial strength and cautiously optimistic in the face of uncertainty around Covid-19 and emerging government policy.
“The resilience demonstrated was no accident, but deliberately built over five years of steadfast focus on fundamentals and performance. It meant that we could respond when shareholders needed us most and when New Zealand needed the agsector most,” said CEO Greg Campbell. . .
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Leave a Comment » | business, environment, Farming, food, horticulture, rural | Tagged: Alan van der Nagel, Chloe Mackle, Chris Allen, Federated Farmers, Fonterra, Graham Neate, Greg Campbell, HortNZ, Hugh Stringleman, Meat Industry Association (MIA), Mike Chapman, NZ Apples & Pears (NZAPI), Ravensdown | Permalink
Posted by homepaddock
19/06/2020
Rural communities under threat from carbon off-setting farmers say – Bonnie Flaws:
Rural communities are being hollowed out as carbon investors buy up farm land at prices well over those farmers might pay, Pahiatua sheep and beef farmer Lincoln Grant says.
School closures were just one symptom of the trend towards increased pine plantations on former sheep and beef farms, he said. Tiraumea school, north of Masterton, is one school that closed its doors two years ago after changing land use led to dropping role numbers.
As farming families sold up and moved away, jobs went with them. . .
The challenge of meeting environmental rules – Peter Burke:
Complying with new and stricter environmental requirements is for farmers a major challenge worldwide.
When Rural News reporter Peter Burke was in Ireland last year, he met up with Professor Tommy Boland of University College Dublin (UCD) who, like colleagues in NZ, is looking to find practical solutions that farmers can use to reduce their environmental footprint and somehow meet the new standards of policy makers and politicians.
Tommy Boland has been to New Zealand several times and understands the situation in this country.
He says both countries are recognised for their efforts and achievements in environmental pasture-based meat, milk and fibre production, while leading the way in developing new approaches to ensuring future sustainability. . .
Study beefs up meat’s importance:
New research highlights value of New Zealand’s red meat sector as the industry launches its general election manifesto.
The red meat sector’s contributes $12 billion in income to the economy and employs almost 5% of the full-time workforce.
The study commissioned by the Meat Industry Association and Beef + Lamb shows the meat processing and exporting sector is also responsible for $4.6b in household income and represents a fifth of New Zealand’s productive sector.
The release of the research by S G Heilbron Economic and Policy Consulting coincides with B+LNZ and the MIA launching a joint manifesto ahead of the election. . .
Terrible news: the avocado crime gangs are about to strike again – Hayden Donnell:
For four years running, at the exact same time of year, New Zealand has been savaged by gangs of avocado thieves. Hayden Donnell sounds the alarm about the country’s most predictable crisis.
They come every year like clockwork. As winter starts to bite, and our summer produce hits its peak price point, the thieves rouse themselves and head out to pillage. They always have the same target. They usually have the same MO. In the dead of night, they steal our avocados.
This year, their timing couldn’t be worse. Most New Zealanders are still reeling from the Covid-19 lockdown. We’re slowly readjusting to normal life: blinking like stunned owls at the white lights of the newly reopened retail stores. Struggling to remember the way to our offices. The last thing we need is another crisis. . .
Silver Fern Farms no available direct to customers with Gourmet Direct partnership:
Silver Fern Farms’ full retail range of natural, grass-fed, premium red meat products are now available to be ordered online and delivered direct to consumers across New Zealand thanks to a new partnership with Gourmet Direct, a nationwide e-commerce business specialising in premium New Zealand meat products.
Silver Fern Farms’ Group Marketing Manager, Nicola Johnston says the partnership with Gourmet Direct was a natural fit, with online shopping becoming more popular than ever following the Covid-19 lockdown.
“At Silver Fern Farms we are thrilled to partner with Gourmet Direct, who have developed a loyal customer base which values their selection of premium meats, product quality and superior customer service. . .
Rail supporting Hawke’s Bay drought relief:
KiwiRail is helping the drought relief effort by shifting stock feed for free from the South Island to parched farms in Hawke’s Bay.
“On top of the Covid-19 crisis, the prolonged drought in parts of the North Island has put some farmers and stock under great stress,” KiwiRail Group Chief Executive Greg Miller says.
“We move dairy products, beef, lamb, horticulture and viticulture for the rural sector so it is one of our most important customers, and we’re pleased to support it now at this time of need. . .
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Leave a Comment » | business, environment, Farming, food, rural | Tagged: Beef + Lamb NZ (B+LNZ), Ben Dooley, Covid-19, Gourmet Direct, Greg Miller, Hayden Donnell, KiwiRail, Meat Industry Association (MIA), Peter Burke, Professor Tommy Boland, S G Heilbron Economic and Policy Consulting, Silver Fern Farms (SFF), University College Dublin (UCD) | Permalink
Posted by homepaddock
13/06/2020
Farm jobs offer competitive pay rates say industry experts – Bonnie Flaws:
Former sports trainer Tim Wilson had always harboured dreams of working on a farm, and last year changed career to do just that.
Wilson was motived by both the lifestyle and the potential earnings that farming offered, he said.
He took a $20,000 pay cut to start as a farm assistant, but said he knew long term his earning potential was much higher on the farm.
Wilson started out as a farm assistant and was now beginning his first year training in herd management on a farm near Te Puke, close to Tauranga. . .
Kiwi workers hold the key to vineyards’ survival, but could we cut the mustard? – Maia Hart:
As thousands become beneficiaries, New Zealand’s biggest wine region still has job opportunities. Could white collar workers really earn their keep in the vineyards? Reporter Maia Hart attempted a morning in the vines. She made minimum wage.
Flanked by rural Marlborough’s grapevines before sunrise, 34 overseas workers in their high vis vests are illuminated by headlights from the company car, jogging on the spot to get their blood pumping and stretch their muscles against the autumn chill.
The workers are in the country on the Recognised Seasonal Employer (RSE) scheme, a huge labour force doing critical hand pruning over winter. Amongst the group are beginners, who worked in New Zealand during summer, stuck in the country because of the Covid-19 pandemic closing borders.
Thornhill Horticulture and Viticulture supervisor Francis Law said it takes a couple of seasons before workers start to realise how much money they can make. They’re likely to make minimum wage to start with. . .
How many logs do we need? – Dileepa Fonseka:
A new bill has forest owners fuming, but it could be the tip of the iceberg for them if NZ First are re-elected to Government
Forest owners feel blind-sided by a bill before Parliament, but more changes could be coming.
Forestry Minister Shane Jones said the owners of forests hadn’t lived up to their end of a social contract to grow the domestic wood processing industry.
He signalled they could expect harsher treatment next term if NZ First were re-elected to Government.
That could start with reversing forestry’s special exemptions under the Overseas Investment Act, and could see NZ First could join forces with National after the election to make that change. . .
No going Dutch on farms – Gerard Hutching:
A Nuffield scholar from the Netherlands has been researching the difference in the roles women play in agriculture in New Zealand, which is quite different in her native country. Gerard Hutching reports.
Dutch dairy farmer and Nuffield scholar Heleen Lansink left New Zealand recently with a heightened appreciation of the differences between the roles of women in agriculture in this country and the Netherlands.
Lansink lives and works with her husband Rogier and their four children on a dairy farm in eastern Holland, close to the German border. They run 85 milking cows on 55ha. . .
Asian markets bolster red meat exports :
The overall value of New Zealand red meat and co-products exported for April might have been broadly similar to the same period last year, but the impact of Covid-19 resulted in changes to some major markets.
Analysis by the Meat Industry Association showed New Zealand exported $859million of lamb, mutton, beef and co-products during the month. Total exports to the United Kingdom were down 27% to $39.6million compared with last April, and down 30% to Germany ($22million).
Exports to China continued to recover, up 16% to $353.6million.
There were also increases for other Asian markets, particularly Japan, with total exports up 66% to $46.8million and Taiwan up 36% ($36.4million). . .
New Ballance recruit is a positive sign for agriculture:
Ballance Agri-Nutrients reputation and great farmer-led culture were just some of the reasons why Auckland based IT professional, David Healy, wanted to join the team.
David Healy, an executive with over 20 years of experience leading change management initiatives for start-ups, public organisations and private companies has accepted the role of Chief Digital Officer (CDO) with the 100% New Zealand (NZ) owned farming co-operative.
David has a proven track record in operations management and research, product and business development across diverse industries including lifestyle company VF Corporation, Icebreaker (before and after they were purchased by VF) and Kathmandu Ltd. . .
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Posted by homepaddock
