by Nick Clark, Federated Farmers Manager General Policy No changes to monetary policy The Reserve Bank this week kept in place its prolonged monetary policy support and made no changes to Monetary Policy Settings. In summary it decided to: Hold the Official Cash Rate (OCR) at 0.25%; Maintain the existing Large Scape Asset Purchase (LSAP) […]
Economy
Economic Week – February 19
by Nick Clark, Federated Farmers Manager General Policy Seven in a row Continued strong demand from China saw dairy prices increase again in this week’s Global Dairy Trade auction. The GDT Price Index was up 3.0% compared to the previous auction a fortnight ago. All six commodities on offer increased in price, led by whole […]
A day in the life of an arable farmer…
New Zealand’s arable industry is worth $2.1 billion each year to the economy, and earns us $260 million in export sales. It also employs more than 11,300 Kiwis. It’s a diverse sector, and a world leader in both volume and quality producing the likes of radish seed, white clover seed and carrot seed. But while […]
Economic Week – February 12
by Nick Clark, Manager General Policy, Federated Farmers of NZ Budget 2021 The Government this week released Budget Policy Statement 2021 for the upcoming Budget. Last year’s Budget was focused mainly on the immediate need to keep New Zealand safe from COVID-19 and combatting the economic fallout. While continuing this work, Budget 2021 will move […]
Economic Week – February 5
A round-up of the week’s economic news by Nick Clark, Federated Farmers Manager General Policy Farmer confidence bounces back The results are out from Federated Farmers’ latest six-monthly Farm Confidence Survey. The survey showed a strong recovery in farmer confidence, albeit off a low base, returning it to levels of a year ago. Key points […]
Feds survey shows farmer confidence has bounced back
Farmer confidence has bounced back to where it was pre-Covid19 but attracting and retaining staff remains a headache, the latest Federated Farmers Farm Confidence Survey shows. Of the nearly 1,100 farmers who completed the Research First survey in the second week of January, a net 5.5% considered current economic conditions to be good. That’s a […]
FTA upgrade a bonus of NZ-China meat trade
The upgrade of the Free Trade Agreement between New Zealand and China will help further streamline trade between the two countries, Meat Industry Association chief executive Sirma Karapeeva says. “The upgrade will simplify export procedures, remove a level of administration, paperwork and reduce compliance costs for red meat exporters. “We anticipate a reduction in the […]
Specialty grains and pulses trialed in Canterbury
By Annabel McAleer, Senior Communications Advisor, Our Land and Water (this article is from the National Science Challenges website). Buckwheat, soybeans and quinoa trials were undertaken in Canterbury last year, comprising three of the six ‘star’ specialty grains and pulses identified by Our Land and Water research as having high potential for New Zealand farmers. […]
Dairy notches record milksolid production in tough year
It’s been another record year for New Zealand’s dairy sector, with total milksolids production at a record high. The DairyNZ and Livestock Improvement Corporation (LIC) statistics show that in the 2019-20 season, New Zealand dairy companies processed 21.1 billion litres of milk containing 1.90 billion kilograms of milksolids (kg MS). This is a 0.6 percent […]
Federated Farmers hails pragmatic migrant worker visa decisions
Farmers and growers up and down the land will be pleased with the pragmatic decision by government to extend visas for migrant workers already on our shores. “The six-month extension for employer-assisted work visa holders and the postponed stand down period for low-paid Essential Skills via holders will come as a relief for the primary […]