Agriculture has fared relatively well during the covid-19 pandemic but vulnerabilities in the sector remain, the Reserve Bank says.
In its Financial Stability Report for May it said lending to the agricultural sector is a key concentration of risk for the banking system, accounting for about 13% of loans, of which around two-thirds is to dairy farming.
“The industry is vulnerable to income shocks given its dependence on global commodity prices and pockets of dairy lending have yet to recover from the 2015 downturn. . .
The magnet on Colin Gibson’s fridge says “I thought growing old would take longer”.
It seems appropriate for the man who has been a shearing judge for 50 years and shows no signs of slowing down.
He was aware of his long history in the industry when he was involved with the world record attempt by Stacey Te Huia near Ranfurly in January. The attempt was abandoned at morning smoko when the total had slipped out of reach, but Mr Gibson featured in television coverage of it recently on the equally long-running Country Calendar
He was a mentor for trainee referees at the event, teaching them to officiate when records were being contested. . .
The wool industry has taken a significant blow in recent months. Prices have eased back by 25% on the first sales back since covid-19 lockdowns.
New Zealand is not alone as Australian wool prices have also decreased by 25% since March. Prices achieved in New Zealand have dropped to average $1.50-$1.70/kg greasy for good crossbred second shear fleece. This is a hard pill to swallow for many as crossbred wool returns are no longer covering the cost of the shearing. AgriHQ data shows current crossbred wool prices are $1.84/kg clean, back by about 31% on this time last year to what can only be described as dire. However, the industry is far from giving up. Those involved in the wool sector from the woolshed to the end market are working hard to ensure that wool will continue to have its place in the market and recover from the current downturn. . .
Farmer Jane Smith was “blown away” by the group dynamic and drive when she and husband Blair hosted the North Otago-based Growth and Development in Farming Action Group at Newhaven Farms in Oamaru.
While the group members are all working in diverse farming operations, they all have a common purpose – aspiring to farm business ownership.
“It was inspiring to host a group of young people that are passionate about the industry and looking at ways, outside of the box, to get a step up into their own farming businesses,” Smith says. “They are very focused on what they are doing now and what it will take for them to get where they want to be.”
They’re considered an environmentalists’ nightmare.
Some groups work tirelessly to remove invasive wilding trees from the high country, but others now have resource consent to plant them.
The Mid Dome Wilding Trees Charitable Trust, which has spent thousands of hours clearing wilding pines from other sites, is dismayed that the Southland District Council has granted a non-notified consent, with conditions, to Mataura Valley Station, near Kingston, to be planted out mainly in Douglas fir.
The trust was now seeking advice from Government ministers. . .
Changing consumer demand in China has opened an opportunity for New Zealand lamb to take centre stage.
In a move to encourage online sales of NZ lamb in China, Beef + Lamb and Alliance have joined forces to launch a digital campaign aimed at leveraging the new consumer behaviour.
The e-campaign is focused on driving online red meat sales as Chinese consumers seek out healthier food options in the wake of covid-19.
“Alliance and B+LNZ are co-investing in the initiative to drive the awareness of NZ’s healthy and natural grass-fed lamb but ultimately to drive sales,” B+LNZ market development general manager Nick Beeby said. . .
Wallabies have been marketed as a cute local attraction in Waimate, but farmers curse the day they crossed the Ditch.
The problems began soon after Bennett’s wallabies from Tasmania were taken to The Hunters Hills in the Waimate District in 1874 for recreational hunting.
Their population boom led to damaged farm pasture, crops and fencing, and native bush and forestry plantings.
A 2017 Ministry for Primary Industries report predicted the cost to the economy of not controlling wallabies in the South Island could be $67million within 10 years.
Anecdotal reports say the numbers are increasing again in the Waimate area. Many farmers are upset about it, but few would go on the record.
Walter Cameron had no such qualms. He has been dealing with wallabies at his family’s 3900ha Wainui Station, near Hakataramea, for most of his life and knows how to keep them in check. . .
The Government’s $1.1 billion idea of redeploying people into environmental jobs is great in concept but difficult to turn into reality, National’s Environment spokesperson Scott Simpson says.
“It’s a struggle to get Kiwis to take well-paying jobs in the horticulture or farming sector, so convincing people to become rat-catchers and possum-trackers in the numbers the Government is hoping for will be an enormous challenge.
“It’s all very well allocating the funding, but there’s no detail on how the job numbers will be achieved and this Government has a poor track record of delivering on their big policies.
“The $1.1 billion for 11,000 jobs means they’ve allocated $100,000 per job. There is no detail about how much of this is going to workers on the ground doing the environmental work and how much of this is going to added bureaucracy in Wellington offices. . .
Attracting general practitioners to work in small rural areas has been challenging at times, which has led people to delay seeking medical care. Ross Nolly caught up with one Taranaki rural GP who says there are a lot of benefits to working in small communities.
In recent years finding doctors willing to work in rural general practices and rural hospitals has been difficult.
The Rural Hospital Medicine Training Programme is a subset of the Royal New Zealand GP College. It’s a relatively new programme and its aim is to give doctors an experience of rural hospital medicine.
The programme has been operating at Hawera Hospital in South Taranaki for three years and shares some elements with general practice with many doctors practising rural GP and rural hospital medicine simultaneously. . .
Chairman of Fonterra Shareholders Council, James Barron on Fonterra, COVID-19, and the importance of community.
He waka eke noa – we’re all in this together. It’s a phrase that seems to be coming up a lot lately, and it reminds me how powerful community can be.
For wider New Zealand, the challenges brought about by COVID-19 have been significant.
But they have also presented some unexpected opportunities – to rediscover community spirit, spend quality time with our families, and do what’s best for the greater good. . .
What do Kiwis think of our farmers? How do we build a more connected, sustainable food system?
In partnership with @openfarmsnz, we asked Kiwis some hard questions about the future of our food and farming.
A plethora of articles suggest that tree planting can overcome a host of environmental problems, including climate change, water shortages, and the sixth mass extinction (1–3). Business leaders and politicians have jumped on the tree-planting bandwagon, and numerous nonprofit organizations and governments worldwide have started initiatives to plant billions or even trillions of trees for a host of social, ecological, and aesthetic reasons. Well-planned tree-planting projects are an important component of global efforts to improve ecological and human well-being. But tree planting becomes problematic when it is promoted as a simple, silver bullet solution and overshadows other actions that have greater potential for addressing the drivers of specific environmental problems, such as taking bold and rapid steps to reduce deforestation and greenhouse gas emissions. . .
Member of lobby group 50 Shades of Green, Mike Butterick on what the group is standing for in 2020.
What an extraordinary nine months since the first meeting in the Wairarapa of people concerned with the rapid change of land use from sheep and beef production into blanket planting pine trees.
It’s been quite the journey; our conclusion is a lack of strategic thinking and a reluctance to get out from behind Wellington desks has driven some bizarre decision making delivering perverse outcomes for NZ Inc. NZ farming won’t be digging itself out of these impacts with production gains.
We are opposed to the sale of good productive agricultural land to subsidised forestry in the way of carbon credits. In our view, it’s undermining all kiwis’ short- and long-term wealth and wellbeing. . .
Beef and Lamb New Zealand says a potential meat tax in the United Kingdom would be “unnecessary” when the primary sector is already doing their bit to cut emissions.
A report by the UK’s Climate Change Committee is proposing a tax could help reduce consumption of meat and dairy products by 20 per cent.
The Committee said the ‘meat tax’ could also prevent seven million tonnes of carbon dioxide being released into the atmosphere by the industry.
However, Beef and Lamb NZ spokesperson Jeremy Baker told TVNZ1’s Breakfast this morning the “blunt” proposal by the Climate Change Committee would not be needed, when the industry has already cut their emissions by 30 per cent since 1990. . .
Now the Government has handed the responsibility of how agriculture will manage and reduce its emissions back to the industry itself, we have been landed an incredible opportunity to turn our emissions profile into the positive story it deserves to be.
The message we need to start sending is that agriculture has one of the smallest global warming impacts of any major industry in New Zealand. The only way to demonstrate that is by completing a full emissions budget.
The routine criticism that farmers receive is largely a result of our industries own failure to tell the whole story. Agriculture has taken a defensive approach for too long. Simply saying we are efficient compared to other global producers is selling ourselves short. Agriculture in general is nowhere near as harmful to the climate as is often described and NZ, with our large swaths of native bush probably contributes less to global warming than any other international producer. We only have ourselves to blame for the situation we now find ourselves in. . .
Oat Industry Group day at Chatton. Having a look at new lines coming through the breeding programme. pic.twitter.com/zepXBQEokF
Tractor and machinery distributors have stepped in to offer assistance to fire-affected Aussie farmers.
While rain has brought some relief to the fire-ravaged areas of Australia; it will take many months to clean up, re-fence, re-stock, replant crops, grow forage for animals and restore a sense of normality.
Several tractor and machinery distributors have recognised the plight of their customers and are taking positive steps to help with the recovery. New Zealand-owned PFG Australia, part of the Power Farming Group based in Morrinsville, has launched its Fire Relief Programme 2020. This will see the company working with key suppliers to initiate clean up and recovery operations throughout Australia. The initiative will run for the whole year, utilising a fleet of tractors and machinery valued at around AU$2million. . .
Sisters growing up on a North Otago dairy farm have leapt into national prominence.
Emma (13) and Samantha (14) Gillies finished first and second respectively in the open pony championship at the national showjumping championships in Christchurch this month.
Less than three seconds and only five points separated them after five rounds of competition.
The girls live at Waitaki Bridge, just south of the Waitaki River, on a farm running 1100 cows. . .
The first four months of the 2019/20 dairy export season has set records, boosted by higher prices and volumes, Stats NZ said today.
Lamb and beef export prices also reached record levels at the end of 2019. Dairy products and meat, New Zealand’s top goods exports, together account for almost 40 percent of the value of annual goods exports.
In the ongoing 2019/20 dairy export season, the value of dairy exports rose 17 percent from August to December 2019 compared with the same period last year, with quantity up 6.7 percent. . .
As a study of 2,000 adults found a quarter of meat eaters feel shamed in this pro vegan/vegetarian era, I’m A Celeb star James Haskell slams ‘nonsense written about meat which I think is really dangerous’
Beefcake athlete James Haskell advised true meat eaters not to be ‘shamed’ into shunning bacon, beef and banger meal favourites – as long as their diet is balanced.
Man-mountain rugby star James revealed millions of carnivores fear criticism over their choice of food in this pro vegan/vegetarian era.
A study of 2,000 adults found a quarter of meat eaters feel shamed for their culinary choice, with one half admitting they went on to cut down their meat-based protein intake. . .
Federated Farmers is urging the trading banks to absorb as much as possible of the additional costs of new bank capital requirements rather than dump it all on customers, and especially on under-pressure farmers.
The Reserve Bank has estimated the impact of the required lift in total capital to 18% for the four large banks and 16% for remaining smaller banks (from a current average of 14.1%) will be a 0.2% increase in average bank lending rates.
“But the impact on farming is likely to be much higher,” Federated Farmers commerce spokesperson Andrew Hoggard says.
“This is because there is less lending competition in the agricultural sector and we know banks are already looking to reduce their exposure to farm debt. Banks have been putting the squeeze on farmers even before today’s announcements by the Reserve Bank.” . .
Farmers will soon be able to breed low methane sheep through a “world first” genetics programme.
Beef and Lamb New Zealand has added low methane production to the list of traits breeders can target when choosing rams.
Farmers already use several “breeding values” (BV) to select animals with characteristics they want to strengthen in their flocks, including meat yield and lamb survival rate. . .
Andy Clark is proud to boast an unbeaten record as New Zealand sheep dog trials test team captain.
The Banks Peninsula farmer led his country to a second successive Wayleggo Cup triumph over Australia at the 125th annual Nelson A&P Show on November 23 and 24.
‘‘It’s a great event and it brings out the best in people. It’s always good to represent your country and it’s an honour to be the captain.’’
He had a very successful season with his dog Girl, winning the national long head title and placing sixth overall in the yarding at the New Zealand sheep dog trials championships earlier this year.
Qualification for the national side is based on performances at the North Island and South Island competitions and the national championships. . .
Not long to go my gentle gaints. These boys will be joining the girls in the next few days along with our Murray Grey and Red Devon bulls. Currently A.I being done using short gestation Belgium Blue and Hereford. Slowing achieving our goal of zero bobby calves. pic.twitter.com/wdK2eUwD16
Vegetable growers have been told Overseer won’t work for them and farm environment plans are the best way to demonstrate good land management practice.
Agrilink director Andrew Barber, who is working with Vegetables NZ and HortNZ to encourage growers to develop plans, has been running a series of workshops in Levin to explain their benefits. Workshops are also being held in Pukekohe.
But there are a range of drawbacks applying Overseer to vegetable production. . .
There’s a buzz in Simon Osborne’s paddock of crimson clover. It’s the hum of animated chatter as around 70 farming folk share their experiences of farming the regenerative way.
Others in the field are quietly taking it all in – “newbies” attending their first field day to learn more about a farming practice that “mimics nature” and has its roots in soil biology and plant diversity.
With many New Zealand farmers facing financial and environmental challenges, a growing number are showing an interest in regenerative agriculture. . .
A slice of rural New Zealand in the centre of Auckland has city kids farming with a view of the Sky tower.
While most Mt Albert Grammar School students grapple with the more usual classroom studies others are out getting hands-on agribusiness lesssons on the school’s 8.1 hectare farm.
The cows and sheep grazing on a farm with a good view of Auckland’s sky tower is the story being told by the third Dairy Women’s Network visual story telling project – Our people, their stories.
The school farm was established in 1932 when the Auckland Horticultural Society decided city children were losing knowledge of farming practices and asked Mount Albert Grammar to teach agriculture and horticulture. . .
🐑 Our 'Live weight production of sheep grazing dryland pastures' factsheet summarises the live weight produced in sheep grazing six of Lincoln University’s dryland pastures over 9 years. It also recommends how production can be maximised. Check it out at: https://t.co/n2kscvctkQpic.twitter.com/Spzvh4WOVg
North Otago farmers Murray and Gaynor Smith say they feel like they’ve been branded ‘‘unclean’’ as a result of being caught up in the Mycoplasma bovis outbreak.
The Smiths are speaking out to show others in a similar predicament they are not alone.
It all started a year ago when Mr Smith bought eight cattle at Oamaru’s Waiareka saleyards. They joined the one resident steer on the 62ha Livingstone farm.
Mr Smith said he was contacted by the M. bovis casing team in Wellington on September 9, but ‘‘there was no indication given that there was anything to worry about’’.
About a week later, he was phoned by a person assigned by the Ministry for Primary Industries to be his incident control point (ICP) manager. The man, whom Mr Smith preferred not to name, told him his cattle were linked to a property known to have M. bovis. . .
A former Manawatū rugby player has taken the plight of farmers’ mental health to the big screen.
Hamish Bennett played a handful of games for the province in the late 1990s and he returns to Palmerston North on Sunday for a special screening of his first feature film, Bellbird.
Bennett lived in Manawatū while studying a bachelor of arts and a post-graduate diploma in teaching. During that time, he played rugby for Feilding Old Boys and donned the green and white four times across two seasons at halfback. . . .
Farmers could expect stricter enforcement of winter grazing practices next winter, and they should be planning ahead for it now.
But the Winter Grazing Taskforce says there is no there is no united view and guidance on best practice for winter grazing in the industry and farmers are not all receiving the same information.
Cple stragglers still on the hill…the girls are on the mive to a quick top up feed before their 9.30am milking. #3in2milking . Still ticking along at 2kgms pic.twitter.com/D8qK32U8ny
A family orchard near Kurow has earned a major national food award.
Waitaki Orchards, which featured in Central Rural Life in March, won the Inspire+ Artisan Awards’ ”frozen” category with its apricot, peach, golden plum and red plum sorbets.
Ellen Watt, one of owners Justin and Julie Watt’s eight children, is responsible for the sorbets. She spends Friday mornings in a commercial kitchen at the orchard, having attended a Timaru baking school for a year and spending nearly a year completing her food compliance qualification. . .
The time is ripe for the global cheese industry, agribusiness specialist Rabobank says.
And as with many New Zealand exports, all roads lead to Asia.
In its report, Global Cheese Trade Dynamics, the bank says strong demand prospects for cheese in emerging markets will drive much of the export market expansion.
The report says market opportunities will be underpinned by increasing cheese demand in emerging markets and deficits in those markets, as their domestic production remains limited . . .
Meat and farmed animals are wrongly blamed for the climate crisis without considering their benefits for society, argues a newcampaign launched by the livestock industry in Europe.
Billboards appeared this week in Brussels metro stations together with a social media campaign #meatthefacts. The adverts are being funded by European Livestock Voice, which is backed by organisations representing EU farmers, foie gras producers and the fur and leather industry.
“We believe this campaign is necessary in order to address misinformation,” said a spokesperson for Livestock Voice. The group said they want people “to think about the whole picture and all the consequences that simplistic speeches calling … for a ‘drastic reduction of livestock’ could have on Europe’s rural areas and on society in general.” . .
About 80% of the world’s vanilla is grown by small holding farmers in the hilly forests of Madagascar. For a generation the price languished below $50 a kilo (about 2.2 pounds). But in 2015 it began to rise at an extraordinary rate and for the past four years has hovered at 10 times that amount, between $400 and $600 a kilo.
The rise is partly because of increased global demand and partly because of decreased supply, as storms have destroyed many vines, and a lot to do with speculation. Local middlemen have rushed into the market, leveraging deals between village growers and the international flavor companies that distill the cured beans into extract and sell it to the big multinationals like Mars, Archer Daniels Midland and Unilever. . . .
The Essential Freshwater Package has Rowena Duncum wishing the Government would stick to the Keep It Simple Stupid method.
Look, I usually steer clear of voicing political opinions, but to be honest, I’ve lost a lot of sleep this past week.
Here we are one week on from the big water policy announcement and I don’t see that abating anytime soon.
In the last seven days, we’ve heard a range of opinions. Some good, balanced and considered. Some in the extreme for opposing sides of the spectrum. . .
Weaning New Zealand’s primary sector off fossil fuels could cost the industry and the agri-sector hundreds of millions of dollars.
Alliance Group, the country’s second-largest meat exporter and largest lamb processor, confirmed it would be ending the use of coal at all of its seven plants within 10 years and was at present examining other fuel options across its network.
It had budgeted capital expenditure of $60 million-$70 million for the transition, it told a select committee hearing on the Zero Carbon Bill in Dunedin yesterday.
David Surveyor, chief executive of Alliance Group, said energy requirements were sourced across a range of fuels. “Levin and Dannevirke operate on natural gas, Nelson utilises diesel, while Smithfield in Timaru, Pukeuri in Oamaru and Mataura and Lorneville in Southland use coal.” . . .
The desire to remove the ticket-clipping middlemen is not confined to dairy and meat farmers wanting to get closer to their markets and earn higher prices. It is a path being followed by Bluff fisherman Nate Smith but, he tells Neal Wallace, he has another motive for supplying fish direct to customers.
Did I want to go fishing, Nate Smith asked from the wheelhouse of his boat Gravity.
He was catching only enough blue cod to fill a small order and the at-times turbulent Foveaux Strait was flat, he added reassuringly.
That brief exchange revealed plenty about Smith and his business, Gravity Fishing. . .
The North Otago A&P Association has two new life members.
At its recent annual meeting, the association acknowledged the years of service given by John Dodd and Murray Isbister.
Mr Dodd, who farms at Tapui, has been involved with the organisation since the late 1980s. He was its president in 2000 and nowadays is convener of the sheep section.
He said there were still people who were willing to go along to judge the sheep at each A&P show. They seemed to enjoy the camaraderie that went with the role, often meeting up with sheep farming colleagues from across the country who also did the rounds of the shows. . .
If New Zealand’s ambition is to be a zero carbon economy by 2050 then it must nurture its wood industry. Many industries claim to be driving towards lower emissions but none have the low carbon profile of the wood sector. The WPMA Chair, Brian Stanley, says; “no other major industry in New Zealand can deliver carbon sequestration, carbon storage and emissions reduction like the wood industry”. Mr Stanley adds, “….and the industry now has independent, third-party certification extending right from the forest to the marketplace to prove that our wood-based packaging and construction products do the right thing by the environment. Our customers in New Zealand and overseas expect no less”.
Last night in Rotorua, WPMA highlighted that both major international certification programmes for forestry: Programme for Endorsement of Forest Certification and Forest Stewardship Council guarantee that wood products from New Zealand come from sustainably-managed forests. In addition to this, WPMA has just launched its Environmental Product Declarations for wood products. . .
The Environmental Protection Authority (EPA) has approved an application to import a new fungicide, Vimoy Iblon, into New Zealand, for use on cereal crops.
The applicant, Bayer, intends to market the fungicide to farmers as a means of controlling a range of diseases including scald and net blotch in barley, leaf rust in barley and wheat, stripe rust in wheat and wheat-rye hybrid triticale, speckled leaf blotch in wheat and stem rust in ryegrass crops.
New Zealand is the first country to approve the use of a new active ingredient contained in Vimoy Iblon – isoflucypram. . .
Over the past 20 years I have had the pleasure and privilege of working as a doctor in rural communities and, more recently, in my mobile ambulance. From D’Urville Island to the Chathams, Kaitāia to Bluff on remote sheep stations and arable farms I have seen how farmers toil and, more recently, boil at the ever-increasing pressure put on them.
None was more evident than on a recent trip to a remote valley that must be one of the most beautiful places on Earth. It was picture-perfect, completely surrounded by snow-capped mountains under a crisp blue sky and with gurgling azure rivers. The air was clean and, with not a person or car in sight, it was the antithesis of urban life. I relaxed instantly as I took in the vista, my lungs filling with mountain air.
However, the humans trying to make a living in this stunning but harsh environment are far from relaxed. Scanning ewes, compliance and pastoral chores dealing with stakeholders, and the ever-increasing demands of conservation and people’s opinion make it an even tougher life. . .
In the past year 685 people died by suicide. But the number of Kiwis affected by those deaths is almost immeasurable. Elle Perriam, 22, knows what it’s like to lose a loved one. She spoke to Luke Chivers.
The last memory Elle Perriam has of her boyfriend Will is of him laughing, making jokes and creating plans for the weekend.
Days later, he died by suicide. He was just 21.
It was a loss that came out of the blue for everyone who knew him, with aftershocks of grief and loss that rippled from his immediate family and through the wider community. . .
If Sam Robinson had his way, talking about your feelings would be a school subject.
The 29-year-old who grew up on a farm near Methven is itching to get his message across to mental health professionals and educators, as well as the rural people he spoke to during the recent Will to Live Speak Up tour.
Sam joined Will to Live founder Elle Perriam on the tour of 17 towns throughout the country.
Agricultural worker Elle established Will to Live last year to boost awareness of rural mental health issues after her boyfriend, shepherd Will Gregory, took his own life.
Sam told the Kurow gathering he had battled depression since 2008 but kept it to himself for a long time. That just compounded it.
”I was head boy, in the First XV and First XI – on the outside it looked like I had it all. . .
Beef farmers will increasingly have to prove their farming systems meet sustainability rules, Rabobank says in its latest quarterly report.
The last 12 months has seen a noticeable step-up in the number and variety of mostly market-led initiatives as beef production comes under more scrutiny over the impact on animals and environment.
The impetus is coming from food retailers, food service companies, processors and producers in response to the changing dynamics, it said.
And the pace of change will increase further. . .
So Im pretty happy milking 3 times in 2 days this spring for the first time….so are the team…Cows doin 2.1. Milked at 6am, 2pm and 10am next day. 1/2 as much walking, better grazing on steeper paddocks out the back 👍👍 pic.twitter.com/cNajfmATIv
New nitrogen-reducing project protecting waterways in Canterbury has nationwide relevance.
In the next two years, it is hoped 50 Canterbury dairy farms will be playing a leading role in some key research to further reduce nitrogen leaching into waterways.
Along with all the work dairy farmers are doing to look after their waterways, farmers nationally will be able to follow the project, called Meeting a Sustainable Future, which will focus on how farmers in Hinds and Selwyn can meet nitrogen loss limits and maintain profitable businesses under the Canterbury Land & Water Regional Plan (LWRP).
The project will build on sustainable farming initiatives many farmers have already begun and an official project launch event was held recently on a Canterbury dairy farm.
Under the LWRP, Selwyn farmers must reduce nitrogen losses by 30 per cent by 2022 and in Hinds by 15 per cent by 2025, 25 per cent by 2030 and 36 per cent by 2035. . .
Innovative Hawke’s Bay apple company Rockit Global Limited has received top international honours at the Asia Fruit Logistica Expo 2019.
The company, recognised across the world for its miniature Rockit apple variety, went home with the Asia Fruit Award for Marketing Campaign of the Year from the Hong Kong event last week.
The company’s general manager global marketing Sandi Boyden said it was a huge thrill to have been acknowledged for the impact Rockit has had within Asia’s fresh fruit and vegetable sector, principally in China, which now accounts for around 50 per cent of Rockit’s global sales. . .
At a time when dairy farmers are faced with low milk prices and high input costs due to the ongoing drought – there is a ray of hope.
High schools students at Kempsey are opting to do work placement on farms including dairies where they see first-hand where their food comes from.
According to 2019 figures from Education Minister Sarah Mitchell’s office there are 3835 year 11 and 12 enrollments for agriculture, 1903 for marine studies (including aquaculture) and 2727 studying primary industries. . .
Southland farmers are feeling under siege by campaigns believed to be by animal welfare and environmental activists questioning intensive livestock wintering practices.
There have been multiple reports in recent weeks of a helicopter with a camera on the front hovering over stock being wintered on crops in various parts of the province.
Separately, Waikato businessman Angus Robson has confirmed he plans to travel to Southland as part of a campaign highlighting questionable wintering practices. . .
New Zealand scientists have singled out the microbes responsible for producing methane in sheep, a discovery which could help reduce emissions from livestock.
Scientists from AgResearch and Otago University are part of a global team that has identified processes that control methane production in sheep and other ruminant animals like cattle and deer.
As well as identifying gut bacteria which produce hydrogen during digestion in sheep, the researchers discovered which organisms feed on that hydrogen in the production of methane. . .
Andrew Rodwell brings international leadership experience to his new job as chief executive of the North Otago Irrigation Company.
He has replaced Robyn Wells, who spent nearly nine years in the role.
Mr Rodwell has a BSc from Canterbury University and a finance diploma from Auckland University’s Graduate School of Business.
As New Zealand’s trade commissioner in Los Angeles he focused on food and agritech, then formed and led a United States subsidiary for Telecom New Zealand. . .
A South Otago beekeeper is enjoying a sweet buzz after flying high at the country’s top honey awards.
Allen McCaw, of Milburn Apiaries near Milton, received the Supreme Award at the ApiNZ National Honey Competition in Rotorua recently, after hauling in two golds, a silver and a bronze medal for his creamed honey entries.
Although he and wife Maria were now working towards retirement, he still enjoyed competing with the honey from his ”cottage” factory to the rear of the couple’s 6.5ha smallholding on State Highway 1, Mr McCaw (69) said. . .
A one-off gift let Young Farmers record a surplus for its latest financial year instead of a significant loss.
The organisation reported a profit of $4.61 million for the year ending September 30, 2018.
But that was because it was bequeathed a farm valued at $5.5m.
Its trading results show losses of about $900,000 for the year though chief executive Lynda Coppersmith is confident the organisation is on the right track to ensure that won’t happen again. . .
Stratford shearer Gavin Mutch returned to the podium at the world shearing championships in France.
The Scottish-born shearer combined with compatriot Calum Shaw to win the teams’ event at the championships in Le Dorat, western France, at the weekend.
Mutch and Shaw finished ahead of Welsh pairing Alun Lloyd Jones and Richard Jones, and New Zealand’s Cam Ferguson and Rowland Smith, who were third. . .
Future Post is leading change in on-farm sustainability with its new environmentally friendly fence post that won the top Agricultural Innovation award at this year’s Fieldays.
“It came as a huge surprise,” Future Post founder Jerome Wenzlick said.
“We weren’t expecting to win, that’s for sure.” . .
“What we need,” Cameron told us last week, “is a nice transition to a meatless or relatively meatless world in 20 or 30 years.”
Even for a filmmaker better known for special effects than human-seeming dialogue, this is a clunker.
To be fair, though, when you’ve made a couple of billion dollars from blue aliens on a fictitious planet, and when you have come to regard New Zealand as your personal movie set, what’s so hard about replacing dairy and meat with plant-based alternatives? . . .
New Zealand is behind other countries in developing and investing in plant-based food ingredients and it’s time to bite the bullet, Plant Research managing director Adrian Russell says.
Agriculture and the world food supply are in the biggest revolution in history, Russell told the Grain and Seed Industry Forum at Lincoln.
“There’s incredibly exciting times to get into as an industry, things are changing and we need to change with it.
“The rise of the flexitarian consuming less meat is predicted to quadruple global pea protein demand by 2025. . .
Rural New Zealand boardrooms, once the exclusive enclave of the old boys’ club, are becoming more diversified.
It is not happening quickly. But it is happening.
Women account for only about one in four board members of the large primary sector co-operatives. Two are on the 11-strong Fonterra board and they comprise two of seven on the Silver Fern Farms board, two of nine on the Board of Alliance Farmers Produce and three of 10 on the Farmlands board. . .
Alan Harvey’s new job is proving great preparation for his tilt at the Young Farmer of the Year title.
The Aorangi region representative in the grand final has moved from being an agricultural consultant for Agri Planz to operations manager for North Otago dairy farming company Borst Holdings Ltd.
After winning the Aorangi competition in February, Mr Harvey said he would have to work on his knowledge of the dairy sector before the national final in Hawke’s Bay on July 4 to 6. So he is filling the gaps in his knowledge while enjoying the variety his job brings. . .
A locally developed, industry-led source assurance programme will set the bar for consumers by enabling them to trace their eggs back to the farm they came from to verify that the eggs they want to buy are the eggs in the carton, says New Zealand’s Egg Producers Federation (EPF).
“True source assurance comes from authenticity across multiple platforms, and for that reason, we see this as the most ambitious primary industry-led programme available,” says EPF Executive Director, Michael Brooks. . .
In the United States, the public panic about the dangers of genetically modified foods is fading fast. This is an amazing—and rare—triumph of reason and science over public hysteria and political posturing.
On Monday, for example, the New York Times published an article by Knuvul Sheikh detailing recent advances in genetically modified crops without offering a single word about potential health dangers or environmental concerns. In fact, it seems there’s a rebranding effort on the left to hype GMO foods as a vital response to climate change.
After describing the benefits of growing plants under artificial light conditions, Sheikh writes: “Researchers have also adopted new genetic techniques to optimize flowering times and make plants more resistant to the rigors of a warming planet.” What types of techniques? None other than Crispr-style gene editing: “Unlike older crossbreeding and crop modification techniques, newer tools like Crispr allow scientists to snip out portions of the plant’s own DNA that may make it vulnerable to disease. . .
Rural women are underpaid and undervalued despite their multiple contributions to their farm, family, home and community, Fiona Gower says.
The national Rural Women New Zealand president spoke in Oamaru this month at a workshop called ”A Leading Voice”. Organised by local Rural Women members, it aimed to help women gain confidence, express themselves, and network with like-minded people.
Ms Gower said women’s input to the farm and household should be recognised by their peers and family.
And women should take the words ”just” and ”only” out of their vocabulary when describing themselves. . .
Good returns for store lambs and strong signals from the milling industry mean arable farmers are opting out of autumn feed grain plantings.
Growers are hunting out their best options and after a good year last year with lambs they are at the top of the priority list for many arable farmers again this year, Federated Farmers grains vice-chairman Brian Leadley said.
The market signals coming from the mills are also encouraging for New Zealand’s drive towards self-sufficiency. . .
Dairy Woman of the Year Trish Rankin has a message for all farmers: recycling systems work and it is worth doing your bit.
“There is a misconception that recycling just gets stockpiled somewhere,” Rankin told Rural News.
“Actually, it doesn’t. Everything that is sent to AgRecovery gets recycled. I think if people knew that they may take the time to triple rinse their containers and take them to their local AgRecovery depot to drop them off to recycle.” . .
Three PhD students have invented an edible bale wrap to reduce farm waste.
The patent-pending BioNet biopolymer was developed specifically for farms to wrap hay and silage.
It is the brainchild of three Imperial College London PhD students: Nick Aristidou, Will Joyce and Stelios Chatzimichail.
The trio came up with the idea after Mr Joyce, who grew up on a farm in Rutland, noticed his parent’s beef herd was creating a lot of wrapping waste. . .
Ewes filling up after belly crutching, ready for swedes late next week weather permitting. pic.twitter.com/DK0gr1yqcn
Zespri’s returns to growers and the industry reached new levels on the back of strong growth in both volume and value and across all fruit categories last season, with operating revenue from global kiwifruit sales and licence release revenue exceeding $3 billion for the first time.
The results reflect continued strong international demand, with Zespri selling a total of 167.2 million trays of kiwifruit in 2018/19, a 21 percent increase on the 138.6 million trays sold in the previous season. Revenue generated by global kiwifruit sales and SunGold licence release increased by 26 percent to $3.14 billion. . .
When Adolf graduated from Lincoln as a valuer and farm consultant he went off to Australia and, by accident, fell into commerce where he remained for forty or so years. Many of my colleagues had come over and introduced Canterbury farming techniques. Some did very well, others not so well
I well remember a crusty old West Australian wheat cocky remarking that ‘those bastards charged us a fee for telling us when we would go broke. . .
The sale of Tip Top to a joint-venture northern hemisphere company, Froneri, for $380 million has achieved almost half of Fonterra’s debt reduction target.
When its Beingmate shareholding is divested and a half share of DFE Pharma is sold, Fonterra should reach its $800m reduction target by July 31.
The Beingmate stake has a market value of about $280m and the DFE share about $200m, based on annual sales figures.
Chief executive Miles Hurrell has therefore made a good start on promised financial reforms of substantial debt reduction, cuts in capital and operational expenditure and 7%-plus return on capital invested by farmer-shareholders and unit holders. . .
Gisborne’s Jo Waugh has won the zig zag hunt at the South Island sheep dog trial championships, the first time a woman has won the event in more than 100 years.
And not only did the 30-year-old and her huntaway dog, Guy, get on the podium, but two other women also joined her in the top seven, clocking up another achievement in the usually male-dominated event.
The South Island Sheep Dog trials were held in Hanmer Springs this week but farmers and shepherds have been competing since the sport first landed in New Zealand in the 1800s. . .
Richard Young was elected to the Silver Fern Farms board on a platform of industry restructuring and agitating for a merger with Alliance. Six years later the Otago farmer is the co-operative’s boss. He talks to Neal Wallace.
Richard Young vividly remembers the induction for new directors the evening before his first meeting as an elected member of the Silver Fern Farms board.
It was 2013 and the newly elected directors were taken through the co-operative’s accounts ahead of the annual meeting the next day.
An Alma family is proud to have set up the district’s smallest dairy farm.
Bethan and Bryan Moore have a herd of just 13 Ayrshire cows with calves on 6ha alongside State Highway 1. They will soon be selling milk in glass bottles.
The Moores bought the land about 18 months ago, after four years of sharemilking in Tasmania. Mrs Moore grew up near Cardiff, Wales and met Mr Moore, a farmer from the North Island, on her travels to New Zealand. . .
(BusinessDesk) – Kiwifruit grower and marketer Seeka has cut its full-year earnings guidance by $4 million due to reduced harvests in both New Zealand and Australia.
Group earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation are likely to range from $32.5 million to $33.5 million in the 2019 calendar year, down from the $36.5-$37.5 million range the Te Puke-based company signalled a month ago.
Seeka, the biggest kiwifruit producer in New Zealand and Australia, said unseasonably hot, dry weather in both countries has reduced fruit size and crop volumes. . .
The work of the Otago Drought Group is a great example of farmers and their organisations collaborating to manage climate challenges locally, Agriculture and Rural Communities Minister Damien O’Connor says.
The group met again this week to update its discussions on the dry conditions in the Clutha district, how farmers were faring and what actions might be needed.
The group, which included Otago Regional Council chairman Stephen Woodhead, representatives from Beef + Lamb New Zealand, DairyNZ, Federated Farmers, the Otago Rural Support Trust and the Ministry for Primary Industries, convened early in any adverse weather event. . .
One of the Waitaki district’s most recognisable restaurants is on the market.
The Flying Pig Cafe, with its distinctive porcine pink exterior, has long been a landmark in Duntroon.
It has been closed since illness befell its owners in early 2017, and is now for sale.
An Auckland couple bought the cafe in 2007 after discovering it during a holiday driving around the South Island. Business began to soar after the Alps 2 Ocean cycle trail opened in 2014. . .
“Incredibly clever” technology that elevates cool rooms into a state-of-the-art controlled atmosphere chambers is helping Hawke’s Bay’s growers make the very best of their crops.
It is not just about chilling fruit, it is about controlling the air conditions inside the cooler to hold it in the best possible state until market conditions are optimal; which could be any time over the 12 months after the crop has been picked.
Next week, growers have the opportunity to learn more about that technology from the Europeans who make it. . .
Rural folk from throughout the Catlins and further afield gathered on Thursday for the last-ever Owaka calf sale.
As the stories and nostalgia flowed – many commenting on how long it could take in years gone by to get home from the sale – there was also a touch of sadness.
PGG Wrightson, which owns and operates the saleyards, is moving the sale from next year to a special sale day at the Balclutha saleyards. . .
A pilot project helping farmers make the most of the One Billion Trees Fund has generated a lot of interest.
Beef + Lamb New Zealand ran a series of workshops in the central South Island this month called ”Farms, Trees and Carbon”.
Experts from Wairarapa forestry and marginal land use advisory and management company Woodnet presented an overview of global warming and New Zealand’s commitment to reducing greenhouse gases.
Then they discussed possibilities for plantings on attendees’ land. . .
It has been a challenging week or so in New Zealand as we all try to make sense of the events in Christchurch on March 15. We’ve all been doing some soul-searching, wondering about the foundations of our society and how it will recover from this tragedy.
As an island nation at the bottom of the world many of us might have thought we were isolated from the hatred that we see in much of the world at the moment.
But we’d be wrong to think that. Our nation was formed through conflict and to this day we often express our fear of others through anger. It might help for rural communities and primary producers to reflect on our make-up. People of all nationalities work the land, grow the crops, pick the fruit and milk the cows. There’s only four million of us here but we produce enough to feed many more people so we’ve had to form partnerships with other nations to sell our great food internationally. . .
Dairy farmers face a strange mix of uncertainties when contemplating with satisfaction the likelihood of a fourth consecutive season of $6-plus milk prices.
While extreme volatility in dairy product prices has calmed down and New Zealand farmers now receive as good as others in Europe and the United States, their institutions have developed cracks.
There might be no better time to rebuild the foundation, beginning with the Dairy Industry Restructuring Act, part 2019.
Last week Fonterra’s leaders promised for the third or fourth time since the embarrassment of their first financial loss in 2018 a fundamental strategy review. . .
NZ Champions of Cheese Awards 2019 has awarded 223 medals to locally-made cheese, proving the quality of New Zealand speciality cheese continues to improve.
Organised by the New Zealand Specialist Cheesemakers Association, the NZ Champions of Cheese Awards has been run since 2003. The Bronze, Silver and Gold Medal winners have been announced today, with the Gold Medal winners vying for one of 26 cheese trophies, which will be announced in Hamilton in May. All the New Zealand Champion of Cheese medal winners are on the NZSCA website https://nzsca.org.nz/winners/. . .
In the most recent update from the Mycoplasma bovis programme, you can find out about the regional meetings kicking off this week, the definitions of RP and IP properties, and Gypsy day information (PDF) https://t.co/EDZtQZLMhUpic.twitter.com/0sx6Qb9u4h
— Ministry for Primary Industries (@MPI_NZ) March 24, 2019
A top-end Patoka dairy farm with consents in place to increase its output by 30 percent for at least the next 10-years has been placed on the market for sale. With Hawke’s Bay’s land values around half of some other districts, the returns from this property would likely be stronger than anywhere else.
Raumati Dairy some 41-kilometres north-west of Napier is a 458-hectare property milking a herd of between 730 – 750 cows, but with consent from Hawke’s Bay Regional Council to stock up to 1000 cows through to 2028. It ticks all the environmental boxes too with riparian areas fenced off. A 60 bail rotary, 600 cow feed pad and all the bells and whistles make this a must view. . .
The European Union is pressing New Zealand to drop the use of some cheese names in free-trade talks but is refusing to open its own dairy markets to increased competition in return.
Negotiators met for the third round of talks in Brussels last week. NZ’s lead negotiator Martin Harvey said the talks had made progress since being launched in July last year and the EU had already tabled an offer on agricultural market access.
“The EU has made us an offer but it is not satisfactory.” . . .
Fonterra decided not to pay an interim dividend because of its debt reduction priorities and steps to improve its operational performance, chairman John Monaghan says.
Fonterra lifted its forecast farmgate milk price range 30c to $6.30-$6.60/kg MS on the back of improved demand from Asia, specifically China, and bad weather slowing production in Australia and Europe.
Countering that, geopolitical pressure in Latin America has made trading conditions difficult in some countries, chief executive Miles Hurrell said. . .
Southern Dairy Hub business manager Guy Michaels said the key takeaway from last week’s field day at the Hub near Wallacetown was that there is a range opportunities for farmers to save money and reduce nitrate (N) leaching. ”While it is still early days for our research, our monitoring programme being carried out in association with AgResearch is starting to provide a picture of the differences in nitrate leaching in different situations,” he said. . .
Usually, it’s the kids who leave home. In the Watt family, it was the parents.
Julie and Justin Watt own Waitaki Orchards, just east of Kurow. Their eight children have become so involved in the business that they have stayed to run different aspects of it.
“Justin and I and the youngest are in Duntroon,” Mrs Watt said when the Oamaru Mail called in last month. “We were the first to leave home.” . . .
We have just about finished the new fence in the #MangaRa Flats development. The #Helicropping Rape that we took the ewe lambs out of 2 weeks ago is bouncing back well, even in the very dry. pic.twitter.com/43BoInn8Kq
A group of teens gathers quietly in the predawn darkness. Dressed in warm clothing, they meet before breakfast to help capture and pack broiler chickens to be taken to a slaughterhouse. They fed, watered, and watched the birds grow; now they prepare them for their final trip. Eventually, the birds will return as meat and be cooked for the teens to eat.
High school students at Olney Friends School, located on 350 acres near Barnesville, Ohio, witness the cycle of birth and death time and again during their four years on campus. Founded in 1837 to serve the children of Quaker families, Olney has always had a farm program and students have been involved in its operation to varying degrees. . .
Rural New Zealand is playing host to a wave of methamphetamine (P) lab production and consumption that has knocked cannabis off its pedestal as the recreational drug of choice in the provinces.
Research by Massey University associate professor Chris Wilkins has highlighted that contrary to popular belief it is rural New Zealand, not large metropolitan centres, where P’s availability has resoundingly surged.
His research work has revealed small towns and rural areas where gang influence predominates are targeted specifically for P use to maximise gang drug revenue. . .
Ospri Chairman Barry Harris says New Zealand farmers can be proud of the progress of the TB Plan towards eradicating the infectious livestock disease bovine tuberculosis.
Among the most important challenges facing New Zealand agriculture is managing and eradicating diseases that threaten our dairy and meat exports.
While Mycoplasma bovis has hogged the headlines recently, the progress of the TBfree programme to eradicate bovine tuberculosis has been quietly progressing as planned.
TB, caused by the similar-sounding Mycobacterium bovis, has been a problem for farmed livestock since they arrived in the 19th century. . .
A company that grows and supplies dung beetles to farmers wants to partner up with local government to lift the insect’s uptake across New Zealand.
The insects are another tool to help pastoral farmers mitigate their environmental impact, according to Dung Beetle Innovations director Shaun Forgie.
Forgie, along with business partner Andrew Barber and Peter Buckley, outlined to Waikato Regional Councillors at a recent committee meeting why it would be economically and environmentally beneficial for landowners and local government to include the beetles in steps for improving water quality and soil health. . .
Among the hordes of exhibitors and visitors through the sheep pavilion at the New Zealand Agricultural Show in Christchurch last week, there was a familiar face.
Stud stock agent Roger Keach is a well-known figure within the New Zealand stud stock industry and regular show attendee for many years.
This year, he was tasked with judging the Hampshire sheep section and all-breeds wool ram hogget class. . .
A lack of practical experience made it hard for Ashley Greer to get a foot on the career ladder in the sheep and beef industry, but she refused to take no for an answer. After years of trying, she has landed her dream job shepherding on a progressive sheep and beef farm near Masterton. Rebecca Harper went to visit her.
If at first you don’t succeed, try, try, try again. It’s an old proverb, but one that is particularly relevant for 28-year-old Ashley Greer.
Ashley set her heart on a career in the sheep and beef sector and began studying towards her Bachelor of Science, majoring in agricultural science and minoring in animal science, at Massey University. In her holidays, she needed to obtain placements on farm. . .
FINALLLY, after what feels like a lifetime waiting, our second highland cow has calved. Looks like we’ve got another beautiful heifer and our little herd has now doubled in size ❤️
North Otago’s two major meat processing plants are working flat out.
Alliance Group Pukeuri plant manager Phil Shuker said the site just north of Oamaru was operating three chains, processing both beef and sheep.
”Lamb is continuing to come through strongly, with the plant having just completed a very busy period processing chilled Christmas orders for the important United Kingdom market. . .
A booming horticulture industry has prompted the introduction of a new degree course at Massey University.
The Ministry for Primary Industries’ (MPI) quarterly outlook figures for New Zealand’s primary sector estimates growth in the horticulture sector for the coming year will be 13.1 percent, a $0.7 billion increase on the previous year.
A three-year Bachelor of Horticultural Science degree is set to begin in February to cope with the expected growth. . .
It’s a critical week for the country’s largest company, Fonterra, which has to find a new direction after shipping out its chief executive, Theo Spierings, writing off more than $1.5bn from its balance sheet, and posting its first loss in its 17-year history.
Meanwhile, back on the farm, Fonterra’s suppliers are absorbing payout downgrades as well as a slump in dairy farm prices.
At the same time they are seeing the valuations of other companies in the dairy industry—notably A2 Milk and Synlait— soaring on the NZ sharemarket. . .
We’re THIS excited for #OpenGates2018 this weekend! Haven’t signed up yet? Get in quick – some farms have already sold out!
The Upper Waitaki has historically been known as the land of Munros, merinos and matagouri.
For more than a century, the Munro family have farmed Rostriever Run, a high country property alongside what is now the Otematata township.
But their roots in the area dated back to the 1860s, when William and Lavannah Munro first arrived in the district. In latter years, Rostriever has been farmed in partnership by three brothers — John, Ian and the late Ronnie — and their families.
But change is in the wind as the family have decided to put the pastoral lease up for sale. . .
A working group tasked with seizing opportunities to create a sustainable and profitable wool industry will have an action plan to revitalise the languishing sector by the end of the year.
The working group made up of 20 wool producers, processors and wider industry stakeholders will continue the momentum of the Wool Industry Summit initiated by Agriculture Minister Damien O’Connor in July in an attempt to move the industry forward with a new purpose and a fresh plan for action. . .
A group set up to help farmers stave off Mycoplasma bovis is vying for a national award.
Morven dairy farmer Hugh Le Fleming and Veterinary Centre Oamaru created the Morven Action Group to find pragmatic ways for farmers to safeguard their livestock from the bacterial cattle disease.
It was discovered for the first time in New Zealand on a Morven dairy farm in July last year. The vets and farmers sought best practice information, from which they compiled a ”Top 11 Checklist and Biosecurity Action Plan”.
It could be used for other potential biosecurity incursions as well as M. bovis. . .
Zespri has made good progress in strengthening alignment and grower ownership and control of the company through a targeted share offer and buy-back programme.
The offer closed on 19 October and Zespri has accepted 427 applications to purchase over 12 million shares for a total of over $95 million. Participation was open to growers who do not own shares and to growers who hold less than one share per tray of their production. Over half of the applications were from previously unshared growers and the percentage of total shares in Zespri held by growers has increased to 85 percent.
One of the great delights of New Zealand’s spring is asparagus rolled in fresh, white bread; steamed and served with a little butter; or juicy and delicious from the barbecue, says Mike Arnold, Chairman of the New Zealand Asparagus Council.
“The weather has been kind to us and the quality and taste of New Zealand grown asparagus is excellent this season, but it is going to be a relatively short season so people should start enjoying asparagus now. We expect asparagus harvesting to finish early to mid-December,” says Mike Arnold. . .
Prospects of a good spring flush for milk production have again trimmed world prices at the most-recent Global Dairy Trade auction, when the index fell by 1.9%, the ninth consecutive fall.
Its is now mid May since the GDT index registered a rise and during that four and a half months the dairy market has lost a cumulative 15.7%.
That is a slow decline by international dairy market standards, showing supply and demand are balanced but the market is worried by New Zealand milk production recovery.
Rabobank said near-perfect weather and more cows milked over the winter resulted in production growth of 5% year-on-year during the seasonal trough from June to August. . .
Should I keep them on milk until after this weekend’s forecast storms have passed? I think they’re a bit spoiled! Probably should’ve weaned a week ago 😂😂 Also, how bout this for a morning?! #taradisepic.twitter.com/F26NZ7m1Ik
Kelly Burnett’s career aspiration is simple: to continue helping rural people get the best out of their bodies.
The Dunedin-based osteopath has a passion for farming and the rural community, and her masters degree research looked at how to help farmers maintain their physical health.
As she put it, tractors and motorbikes were regularly serviced and working dogs went to the vet for any injuries or ailments. But rural people often did not see themselves as the most important tool on their farm or in their business. . .
New Zealand won the transtasman blade shearing test and the New Zealand woolhandling champion won his third consecutive title at the Waimate Shears on Saturday.
The 51st annual two-day shears at the Waimate showgrounds attracted strong entries across its categories, which began with woolhandling at noon on Friday.That culminated on Saturday afternoon with the open section win to Joel Henare, who splits his time between Gisborne and Motueka.
A highlight of the programme was the test between Kiwi blade shearers Tony Dobbs, of Fairlie, and Allen Gemmell, of Rangiora, and their Australian rivals Johnathon Dalla and Ken French. The New Zealanders finished 13.63 points ahead. . .
Fonterra has appointed an independent Sustainability Advisory Panel to guide the Co-operative as it strives to be a world leader in sustainably produced dairy nutrition.
The panel features a diverse range of experts including:
• Sir Rob Fenwick (Chair), who co-founded the New Zealand Business Council for Sustainable Development and was the first New Zealander knighted for services to both business and conservation. . .
This is the second part of a two-part series putting Fonterra’s China Farms under scrutiny. The first part is here
In the preceding article I traced the internal thinking within Fonterra as to why Fonterra decided to produce milk in China. The underlying belief was that Fonterra had the necessary expertise but could not play the desired role within China without having in-country production systems. By late 2009, having lost its key China partner San Lu from the melamine disaster, Fonterra decided to go it alone with an expansion that would become known as the Yutian hub. From there, additional hubs would be developed.
Fonterra decided it would work towards a supply of one billion litres of China-produced milk per annum and this would require about 80,000 cows milking at any one time. There was an assumption that high-quality milk from these farms would sell at a premium to other China-produced milk. Whether or not Fonterra would also undertake processing operations was seen as a question for the future, but with a likelihood this would occur. . .
Profiting from precision irrigation: – Andrew Swallow: Economic, environmental and social benefits are prompting a growing number of Australasian and US farmers to adopt precision variable rate irrigation systems.
New Zealand, a country generally known for its ample annual rainfall and phenomenal natural crop growth, is an unlikely origin for a precision irrigation development that’s gaining traction globally. However, light soils and sporadic precipitation in some regions, plus readily available water for irrigation, mean close to 800,000 ha or 6.5% of the country’s farmland is artificially watered.
Originally, much of that was with flood irrigation using border-dykes but, in the drive for water use efficiency and environmental protection, spray irrigation has become the norm, mostly with centre-pivots. . .
Merino wool is fetching prices at auction not seen since the late 1980s and early 1990s.
Last week’s South Island wool sale in Christchurch was “outstanding” for merino and mid micron wool, following on from the continued strengthening in Australia, Roger Fuller, of CP Wool, said.
Australia was experiencing horrendous drought conditions, which was reflected in the prices being achieved in New Zealand.
The problem would be exacerbated next year as a lot of sheep would not survive the dry conditions, Mr Fuller said. . .
A dog’s life is about to get a whole lot better thanks to a brilliant bit of Kiwi innovation.
Our hardest working farm hands, the renowned New Zealand working dog, has always had a tough but rewarding job.
All day out in the weather mustering sheep and keeping the farmer company, only to spend the night under a makeshift shelter or kennel, on an old blanket for warmth – that’s the way it’s been since this nation was founded, but one Kiwi entrepreneur thinks it is time for a change. . .
See more at the Kelvin the Thermokennel website here.
A trial is underway to measure the growth rates of Angus/Jersey beef calves from birth to finished product.
Initiated by Greenlea Premier Meats, the project will track about 150 Jersey x Angus calves now being born on Zach and Laura Mounsey’s Arcadia Dairies Farm near Otorohanga.
Semen from the pedigree Angus sire Matauri Crikey G244 was supplied free by Greenlea. . .
AROUND the Adelaide Showground’s cattle, pig and sheep sheds, farmers from across the state are proving they themselves are the toughest breed.
Low rainfall and high feed prices are putting huge pressure on their incomes and forcing some to make tough decisions about their future.
As the Royal Adelaide Show opened yesterday, behind the draw of the Showbag Pavilion and the excitement of the carnival, farmers who had travelled to Adelaide carried the weight of a tough season on their shoulders.
Among them was Michael Blenkiron, of Keyneton, in the Barossa Valley, who said many working side-by-side in the pig pavilion were “in survival mode”. . .
This map shows where infected properties are under quarantine lock-down, as at Thursday last week. Map: Supplied
A year and 100 official updates later, the central South Island is still in the grip of Mycoplasma bovis.
The bacterial cattle disease has never been far from the headlines since it was confirmed for the first time in New Zealand on a dairy farm near Morven on July 22 last year.
The Ministry for Primary Industries, via its new Biosecurity New Zealand arm, released its ”Mycoplasma bovis response stakeholder update 100” late on Friday afternoon.
The map included showed Central Rural Life territory liberally sprinkled with blue blobs denoting infected properties.
The three latest ones discovered were all in Canterbury, connected to other known infections through animal movements. . .
The Ministry for Primary Industries says transporting heavily pregnant cows affected by Mycoplasma bovis is a last resort.
New Zealand Veterinary Association members have been asked to certify late-gestation cows as being fit-for-transport to slaughter premises.
NZVA advised members not to certify within four weeks of the planned start of calving, even if the cows were caught up in the mass culling required to eradicate the disease. . .
One of the issues current food producers have is trying to satisfy a number of masters. The New Zealand pork industry is a classic example.
The general public require that pigs are reared in what are perceived to be systems that meet animal welfare requirements and many consumers desire pork that has been reared in a free-range requirement. These aims to produce a more ‘ethical’ food come at a cost to the producer. . .
An outstanding leader in the kiwifruit industry, Peter McBride, accepted horticulture’s premier award, the Bledisloe Cup, at the Horticulture Conference 2018 on Tuesday, 24 July.
Very similar to the famous rugby Bledisloe Cup, horticulture’s version was one of three cups Lord Bledisloe presented to New Zealand in 1931. . .
Seeka Limited has announced plans to invest $18m in its Northland post harvest business over the next three years. Seeka is investing in new post harvest capacity, packing machines, packing shed and coolstores in Kerikeri. The investment will significantly lift the capacity of the business and give growers better harvest timing across all varieties handled – kiwifruit, avocados and citrus. The announcement was made to Seeka’s Northland growers meeting earlier this week with the Far North District Council Deputy Mayor, Tania McInnes, in attendance. . .
Yesterday the BBC Breakfast team visited our farm to learn about how the prolonged period of dry weather is effecting farmers (in particular livestock farmers) across the country.
Whilst Polly may have stolen the limelight with her best-behaviour and displays of affection for the presenter, the issue is extremely serious and worrying for all involved in British farming since everyone is in a similar situation. Don’t get me wrong, it has been lovely to have such nice weather – I can’t remember a summer when I wished it would rain!
Here’s why the recent weather is so problematic for livestock farmers up and down the UK – feel free to do a rain dance once you have finished reading! . .
A petition calling on the Government to deliver for rural New Zealanders and provide essential healthcare for 600,000 rural New Zealanders has been tabled in Parliament by Taranaki-King Country MP Barbara Kuriger.
“Rural New Zealanders remain frustrated with Rural Communities Minister Damien O’Connor’s failure to ensure vital health services are provided to rural New Zealand and are angry about the Government’s decision not to continue funding for the Rural Health Alliance. . .
New Zealand scientists are trialling genetically modified ryegrass they believe could revolutionise agriculture.
South Canterbury farmer, biotechnologist, and former Federated Farmers national president William Rolleston says it’s the best Kiwi science since Ernest Rutherford split the atom.
AgResearch has developed a ryegrass with high metabolisable energy (HME) that can grow up to 50% more quickly than conventional ryegrass, store more energy, be more drought-resistant, and produce up to 23% less methane. . .
Electronic identification tags, scanning wands, weighing scales, farm business courses and drone use to check on animal welfare are all management tools used by Mt Somers deer farmers Duncan and Lorna Humm to improve, and add value, to their deer operation.
The young couple run a deer farm on a 43ha property, nestled near the foothills of the Southern Alps. Duncan isa fourth-generation farmer. The farm has been in his family since the mid-1960s, after his great grandparents moved from dairy farming near Kaikoura.
His parents, Christina and Bryan — now retired — ran sheep and cattle before diversifying a section of the property to deer in the 1990s. . .
Chloe Mackle was scared of the dark and anything that moved – but when she was challenged to try dairy farming, she decided to go for it.
Chloe Mackle After growing up in North Shore, Auckland, her first day on the job was a massive learning curve. “
All I knew was that my milk came in a bottle and my meat in a packet,” says Chloe. Now she is a farm manager and likes nothing better than working with cows and hanging out with her golden Labrador Nala . . .
Shearing a sheep is said to be one of the hardest jobs in the world, and that is what documentary director Jack Nicol hoped to prove in his new movie, She Shears.
Following the life of five female shearers gunning for glory at the Golden Shears, the portrayal of each woman is “quite delightful”, according to Masterton-based champion shearer Jills Angus Burney.
Angus Burney is one of the five whose story is told in the movie, produced by Miss Conception, which will be shown to the public for the first time next month at the New Zealand International Film Festival.
“Part of my role is the narrator, because I’m the old bag who retired,” she said. . .
More than 2.5 billion pounds of meat and poultry produced by US farmers have been stockpiled in cold-storage warehouses with the amount expected to grow further, according to the latest federal data.
Record production of beef, pork, poultry and turkey has become increasingly dependent on exports as US consumers cannot buy up the huge amount of meat. That would drive down prices for American consumers, restaurants and retailers. However, the recent import tariffs imposed by the country’s trade partners on the wide range of US goods, including agricultural produce, have slowed down sales of US meat and poultry abroad. . .
The man who brought water to Waitaki farmland has been honoured with a plaque alongside Bortons Pond.
Sid Hurst, who died aged 97 in July 2016, is now officially commemorated as a “Visionary Farmer and Irrigation Pioneer; Champion of the Waitaki”.
The plaque site was chosen for its significance to the Lower Waitaki irrigation scheme, which Mr Hurst instigated. Bortons Pond, just west of Georgetown, is where water diverted from the Waitaki River is held for distribution to thousands of hectares of drought-prone land. . .
The effects of the Mycoplasma bovis response are being felt by a Cambridge farmer whose farms are under Primary Industries Ministry Notice of Direction.
“We are under movement restriction with three properties.
“We were told we were suspect and slapped under restriction on March 5.”
MPI said there are no properties under Restricted Place Notice in the North Island but there might be some on Notices of Direction, effectively a stock movement restriction. . .
The introduction of regulations to support compliance with New Zealand’s animal welfare legislation will add further weight to New Zealand’s animal welfare standards, according to Beef + Lamb New Zealand.
Dave Harrison, General Manager Policy and Advocacy of Beef + Lamb New Zealand (B+LNZ) said: “World Animal Protection has given New Zealand an ‘A’ ranking on its Animal Protection Index, one of only four countries to achieve that standard.
“This reflects the fact we have some of the highest animal welfare standards in the world, and it is important that these high standards are maintained’” says Harrison. . .
Parkhill Dairy Farm at Ashley Clinton has won the East Coast Ballance Farm Environment Awards -entered by owner Andrea Barry and manager Craig Pennell. The win was announced at an awards dinner at the Napier Conference Centre on Wednesday night (March 28). They will host a field day in April.
Parkhill was one of the first three dairy farms converted by Andrea and her late husband Peter Barry in 1994. Andrea Barry is proud of the work that has been done and is still being done on Parkhill. . .
THE largest investment into mouse-related research ever made in Australia was announced by the GRDC today.
The GRDC is injecting more than $4.1 million into mouse control research, development and extension initiatives in response to the increasing prevalence of mice in many key grain-growing regions of Australia.
GRDC managing director Steve Jefferies says the GRDC recognises the enormity of the mouse problem and the severe impact it has on our growers’ businesses, their families, their communities and the broader industry. . .
Time for all you little cows to put on your little cow PJ’s and get to bed. Good night. Peace. pic.twitter.com/tRXOEPYZ72
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