A $40million investment to access global consumer butter market Westland Milk Products is embarking on an ambitious $40 million plan to double capacity of its consumer butter manufacturing facility. The plan to increase production of premium grass-fed consumer butter brand Westgold has been five years in the making and is backed by new owner, global […]
National
Feds proud to back NZ Dairy Story
Sip that fresh glass of New Zealand milk, cut a wedge of our cheese, and know the farmers behind it are world leaders in animal welfare and climate change. And unlike producers in many other nations, they do it without direct, free-trade distorting subsidies. Federated Farmers is proud to endorse the messages in The New […]
Strong will to lift wool returns
A Covid-era shift towards working from home, the rise of ‘Zoom’ towns in the USA and growing consciousness worldwide of the environmental credentials of products are all trends that the Strong Wool Action Group sees as potential opportunities. SWAG CEO Andy Caughey told the Federated Farmers Meat & Wool Council late last month that the group’s aim is to identify ways to be a disruptor in product categories in […]
Government agency thirsty for more water rules
A new government agency charged with improving national drinking water standards is trying to find more than 50,000 water suppliers, many of whom will be farmers supplying a handful of households. The new agency called ‘Taumata Arowai’ opened its doors on March 1. It wants to register water suppliers so they can be monitored and […]
Minister: It’s up to industry to solve the progression question
The door is always open for discussions and the government will listen to the industry’s advice “but you can’t just expect us to solve that challenge”. That was Agriculture Minister Damien O’Connor’s answer to a question about the thorny issue of progression and succession at last month’s Federation Farmers National Council meeting. “We know it’s a major problem for people in the sector. We want […]
Wellbeing support package unveiled for horticulture sector
Agriculture Minister Damien O’Connor has announced the rollout of a wellbeing support package for fruit growers facing tough times. “I understand it’s challenging at the moment. The pandemic has led to national workforce issues and orchardists down south have suffered crop losses caused by weather events. “This package significantly boosts funding and resources to support […]
Kaiwaiwai’s why – an eye to the future
Covid-19 kicked to touch any face to face community celebration of Kaiwaiwai Dairies Ltd taking out the Greater Wellington ‘Supreme Winner’ Ballance Farm Environment Award last year. But last month more than 150 people gathered at the 642ha farm near Featherston in the Wairarapa to see for themselves why the award judges described the six shareholders as being industry leaders in adopting sustainable management practices. One of […]
Working on achieving workable freshwater regulations
By Gavin Forrest, Federated Farmers GM Policy & Advocacy Federated Farmers and other Team Ag members have been working hard behind the scenes seeking to find changes to a significant number of implementation problems with the Essential Freshwater regulations passed in August last year. We all want to maintain water quality where it is good […]
Better, faster, smarter crop variety data for Australia’s grain growers
Australian grain growers are set to get better crop variety recommendations faster through a major Grains Research and Development Corporation (GRDC) international collaborative investment. The $5.39 million five-year INVITA (Innovations in Variety Testing in Australia) investment will deliver improved predictors of variety performance, quicker access to trial data for growers, better monitoring of trial quality […]
Vaccinating animals for their health – and ours
by Mark Ross, Chief Executive of Agcarm OPINION: As we struggle to fathom how we ended up in the throes of the Covid-19 pandemic, we’re reminded of the importance of vaccinations to protect us from life-threatening diseases. The same applies to animals – to preserve their health and wellbeing as well as ours – due […]