Stressed rural contractors, told in mid-December they could bring in 200 more skilled machinery operators, have not yet seen a single arrival given any MIQ space. Rural Contractors NZ CEO Andrew Olsen says despite the best efforts of MPI staff to help find MIQ beds for the approved operators, the indications now are that few, […]
Arable, Grains & Seeds
Feds survey shows slight uptick in farmer-bank relationship
Farmers are feeling slightly more satisfied with the relationships with their banks but interest rates are starting to rise and some are reporting a tougher attitude from lenders. Results from the November Federated Farmers Banking Survey show 67 percent of the more than 900 respondents are satisfied with their bank relationship, up 5.5 points on […]
Chinese energy restrictions will add strain to the supply chain
by Mark Ross, CEO Agcarm A nation of intense manufacturing activities combined with ambitious targets to reduce carbon emissions has forced China to make drastic policy changes, resulting in strict measures to control energy supply. The global market will be caught in the crossfire of China’s measures to reduce its environmental footprint, with ambitious goals […]
New Zealand food and fibre exports forecast to hit a record $50.8 billion
Food and fibre export revenue is projected to surge to a record $50.8 billion in the year to 30 June 2022 – an increase of 6 percent over the previous year. “This is the first time New Zealand’s annual food and fibre export revenue will crack $50 billion – a result we should all be […]
Hugh winds up herbage seedgrowers role with industry in fine fettle
Hugh Wigley says it’s satisfying to end his 15-year stint as Chairperson of the Federated Farmers Herbage Seedgrowers Subsection at a time when the industry is on a high. “Currently we’re looking at the highest returns I’ve seen in my time in farming. “The SIRC (Seed Industry Research Council) and the NZ Seeds Authority (NZSA) […]
‘Massive’ hit on production if totally unnecessary nitrogen fertilizer ban came in
The basis of claims made by Greenpeace in support of its petition to ban use of all synthetic nitrogen fertilizer by 2024 have been called mischievous and misleading. For example, Greenpeace likes to hammer the point that New Zealand had the highest rate of increase in inorganic nitrogen fertilizer application out of OECD countries from […]
Crunch is coming for agricultural contractors
Federated Farmers’ concerns about the serious shortage of experienced agricultural machinery operators is proving justified as summer approaches. A shortage of experienced operators is being felt across rural New Zealand, and the pressure is building on both farmers and rural contractors, Feds immigration and employment spokesperson Chris Lewis says. “Unfortunately, we all saw this coming […]
Farmers helping feed Auckland families this Christmas
Farmers Feed Families aims to feed families adversely affected by continued financial pressure they are faced with as a result of COVID 19 forcing Auckland into a prolonged lock down. This has meant many families have been without work – income and therefore food.
NZIER Report: Glyphosate’s economic and environmental benefits
Food and pasture growers as well as the forestry industry rely on glyphosate to prevent deep-rooted weeds from taking over their crops and decimating productivity, according to a report by the NZIER on the benefits of glyphosate to New Zealand. The world’s most widely-used weed management tool has extensive economic and environmental benefits. It enables […]
Accelerated breeding for healthy African beans
The University of Western Australia’s Institute of Agriculture and researchers from six partner countries in East Africa have shown how to accelerate breeding of healthier and faster-cooking African common beans. The study, recently published in The Plant Genome, used modern plant breeding methods to accelerate genetic gains by crossing among 358 common bean varieties. This […]