Media release – NZ Government The food and fibre sector acknowledged its people and leadership at last night’s 2022 Primary Industries Good Employer Awards, a time to celebrate their passion towards supporting employees by putting their health, welfare and wellbeing first,” Acting Minister of Agriculture Meka Whairiti said. “Award winners were selected from an extraordinary […]
Maori Agri Business
Owners of unproductive land encouraged to grow ‘black diamonds’
Media release – Ministry for Primary Industries A Bay of Plenty truffle company is sharing the secrets of the industry in a bid to get landowners growing ‘black diamonds’ across the country. Ohiwa Black Diamond Truffles is receiving more than $155,000 of Government funding over three years to share its knowledge with interested growers so […]
Government backs Māori climate action
Media release – New Zealand Government $35.4m to help farmers, growers and whenua Māori owners reduce their agricultural emissions $30.5m to establish a platform for Māori Climate Action Farmers, growers and whenua Māori owners have been supported by the Government to ramp up their efforts to reduce agricultural emissions and the impacts of climate change […]
Ahuwhenua Trophy Competition Back on Track
The 2022 Ahuwhenua Trophy competition to select the top Māori sheep and beef farm is back on track after having been postponed earlier in the year due to Covid-19 risk. Judging of the entrants in this competition resumes in May, as well as the judging for the Ahuwhenua Young Maori Farmer Award which is run […]
Protecting bees from killer mites
– From AgCarm The parasitic mite Varroa destructor is a severe threat to New Zealand’s honey bees. Since the mite appeared on our shores twenty years ago, affected bees have not been able to survive without human intervention. Effective treatment for varroa is essential for protecting our most productive pollinators. More bee colonies are now […]
Government support for Māori landowners to invest in growing sheep milk industry
The Government is backing a project to support Māori landowners to invest in New Zealand’s rapidly growing sheep milk industry, Agriculture Minister Damien O’Connor said today. “We are backing the Māori Agribusiness Sheep Milk Collective, which has ambitious goals to have multiple farms milking about 25,000 sheep and potentially employing more than 100 people by […]
Horticultural programme to provide new opportunities for Ngāti Hauā
The Government is partnering with Ngāti Hauā Iwi Trust to develop a horticultural programme that will empower Ngāti Hauā whānau to upskill, diversify their businesses and sustainably generate wealth from their land, Agriculture Minister Damien O’Connor announced today. The Waikato-based iwi has received $1.12 million from the Ministry for Primary Industries’ Sustainable Food and Fibre […]
Dedicated rural representation – A must-have for Gisborne
In November 2020 the Gisborne District Council voted in favour of including Māori wards, this, in turn, prompted a representation review. The review began in May this year with the council engaging with us on what fair representation looks like by conducting a pre-engagement survey, this resulted in the Council producing an initial proposal for […]
Peanut crops trialled in Northland
Pic’s Peanut Butter has kicked off a project to look at the feasibility of growing peanuts commercially in Northland, with backing from the Ministry for Primary Industries (MPI). The $91,320 project is led by Picot Productions, and MPI is contributing more than $59,000 through its Sustainable Food and Fibre Futures fund. Research expertise is being […]
NZ’s first 100 year agreement to innovate
Lincoln University and Taupō dairy company Miraka have today jointly announced the signing of a ‘100-year’ Memorandum of Understanding to team up and provide a real-world farming context to test innovative new farming practices. The partnership is the first of its kind in New Zealand and research areas will include Aotearoa-specific regenerative agriculture approaches, emerging […]