Uncertainty over restrictive new buying practices and competition from the feed wheat industry has seen the nation’s arable growers cut back on sowing milling wheat – the wheat used for bread. “It’s worrying that buying practices we believe may be anti-competitive, coming at a time where growers are able to receive better prices for animal […]
Strong wool and necessity – the mother of invention
Strong wool has won plenty of media spotlight of late. While prices remain abysmal at present, the creativity being shown on new uses for this natural and sustainable fibre bodes well for better returns to farmers in the future. Federated Farmers co-ordinated some of the established and new players in strong wool for a ‘wool […]
Twelve wilding pines projects to share $2 million
Twelve community projects across New Zealand will receive a share of $2 million to carry out wilding pine control, Biosecurity Minister Damien O’Connor announced as part of Biosecurity Week. “Wilding pines are a serious problem that threaten many of the unique landscapes that New Zealanders value. Community groups and trusts on the ground can play […]
Women leaders bring ‘wider vision’ to North Canterbury executive
The two women at the helm on the Federated Farmers North Canterbury executive are keen to show others there’s nothing stopping women taking the lead on the challenges facing agriculture. Caroline Amyes (President) and Bex Green (senior Vice-President and Vice-Dairy chairperson) were elected by fellow farmers at the province’s AGM in May and both are […]
New drive for strong wool profitability gaining impetus, Feds says
New Zealand’s wool industry is entering an exciting new era of collaboration, innovation and consumer-focus to deliver game changing profitability to farmers, William Beetham says. “We’re really pleased to see industry players work together to end fragmentation and concentrate on driving extra value from the superior attributes we all know that strong wool entails,” the […]
Let’s get smarter about Facebook reactions
By Southland Vice-President Bernadette Hunt I’ve been thinking about the social media chat following the Groundswell protest, and it has become really apparent to me that we’re really not clever about the way we use social media. The one sign that upset so many people seemed to be everywhere on Facebook, and we only have […]
Research key to improving water quality in Ararira catchment
Know your catchment before you take action to improve water quality. That’s one of the key findings from a two-year research collaboration between Living Water (a partnership of Fonterra and the Department of Conservation) and the University of Canterbury’s Carex group (Canterbury Waterway Rehabilitation Experiment). They were working together on the Ararira / LII River […]
Blockchain links us to value capture, less tedious data entry
Of all the presentations at the Primary Industries NZ Summit in Christchurch earlier this month it was a session on blockchain technology that lit up the eyes of Andrew Hoggard more than any other. The Federated Farmers President has made better data interoperability a mission. Like most farmers he detests having to enter the same […]
Listen up, or farmers are going to start digging their toes in
The next instalment of our series introducing the new Federated Farmers Provincial Presidents – Chris Dillon, Southland What’s your farming background? I finished Lincoln University in the late ‘90s, travelled and worked in a few different places and ended up back on the home farm near Gore around 2000. We started an agricultural contracting business […]
Cobber Challenge: It’s Aussie kelpies vs Kiwi heading dogs
Australia’s Cobber Challenge is for the first time expanding to include New Zealand farmers and their dogs. The annual challenge has been going since 2016 and involves working farm dogs being fitted with a GPS collar that tracks their distance travelled, work hours done and speed over a three-week period. Points are accorded, the dogs […]