Business

Dairy challenged to keep building momentum

Dairy farmers at DairyNZ’s Farmers’ Forum have been challenged to take their world-leading farm systems and continue toward an increasingly sustainable future. The forum in Waikato and Southland opened on Thursday, April 29, with keynote speaker Climate Change Minister Hon. James Shaw, who acknowledged the sector’s success and where dairy is heading. “We know that New Zealand’s dairy farmers have amongst the lowest carbon footprint per unit of production in the world. That is something for us to build on, to bend the curve on our total emissions output, because it is our total emissions that cause climate change,” said Mr Shaw. “There have been things happening in the sector over the past few years that are changing the way things are done. These are making significant impacts for the farmers adopting them, reducing their emissions whilst at the same time increasing their profitability. Our task now is to roll these innovations and changes in farm practice out right across the country.” “The same thing is true in every sector of the economy. There is a lot of work to be done, but if we get it right, what we’ll see is a cleaner and more productive country.” Leading New Zealand economist Cameron Bagrie also emphasised challenges facing the sector, including climate change and the labour issues, but suggests the farming sector’s sentiment in the next 10 to 20 years should be a glass half full. “Our country’s world leading agricultural sector has made big advances over the past few years, including tidying up balance sheets, and improvements can and should continue,” said Mr Bagrie. “Disruption is here, and coming thick and fast, but the dairy sector knows what it needs to do. We are going to get there.” DairyNZ chairman Jim van der Poel also said we can be […]

New grain fed beef site set to tantalise

New website grainfedbeef.com.au showcases the attributes of grain fed beef production in Australia and aims to provide consumers with information that covers topics including animal welfare, environment, and nutrition. Queensland-based lot feeder, Barb Madden of Smithfield Cattle Company (pictured), is excited about the launch of grainfedbeef.com.au and said it was a project brought on by curious consumers and those involved in producing and supplying the highly sought-after product. “To date, there has been a lack of readily accessible, credible information available on the production of grain fed beef in Australia. This central source of verified information will prove to be a valuable resource for those seeking out this information,” Barb explained. The site and Instagram account @grainfedbeef promises to deliver tantalising stories on how grain fed beef is produced and how people like to enjoy the tender, juicy flavours that is consistent with grain fed beef. “Australian grain fed beef is an exceptional product, underpinned by a quality assurance system that is considered the world’s best practice. Consumers might be surprised by the quality, care and pride that goes into every step, from production to product, welfare and environment.” “The site allows consumers to connect with where their food comes from in a direct and engaging way.” “As grain fed beef producers, we are committed to meeting the high standards we set for ourselves, and that are set within our independently audited quality assurance scheme. For us, it is about communicating this to our consumers and the progress we’re continually making in line with community expectations,” Barb said. Anyone seeking out information on grain fed beef will find value in the site, whether you have it on your restaurant menu, stocked in your butchery, or served up on the family dinner table. Peak industry body, the Australian Lot Feeders’ Association, […]

Climate change to be discussed at Apiculture Conference

Rotorua will be abuzz with beekeepers and honey producers this June, as the apiculture industry gathers for the annual Apiculture New Zealand Conference and Trade Exhibition. Held from 24-26 June at the Rotorua Energy Events Centre, the theme of Conference 2021 is ‘Healthy Bees, Healthy Industry, Healthy Future’. Apiculture New Zealand chief executive Karin Kos says Conference is a great chance for the apiculture industry to tackle some of the big issues facing the sector. “We have a packed schedule with presentations, panel discussions and practical seminars covering some of the important challenges facing our industry. These include the effect of climate change on pollinators, new research around managing pests like varroa, and the state of the global honey market.” The annual Apiculture New Zealand Conference is highly anticipated by beekeepers, bee scientists, apicultural suppliers and wider industry says Karin. “As always, there will be plenty to learn and share, and lots of opportunities to catch up with beekeepers from across the country. We are particularly aware this year of the importance of the social side of Conference, after COVID-19 meant last year’s event had to cancelled. People are really keen to get together.” As uncertainties around COVID-19 remain, the organising committee are also preparing ‘Plan Bee’, a fully online digital conference, should this be necessary. “We are committed to having Conference this year one way or another,” says Karin. “Our preference, of course, would be the fully on-site face-to-face event, but we know that online events can work really well and allow for lots of interaction between attendees and presenters if this is what needs to happen.” A highlight of Conference is always the National Honey Competition, where honey producers from across the country vie for medals across a range of categories. Karin says beekeepers are already preparing […]

Fooditive’s sweetener a revolution in the food industry?

The words ‘healthy’ and ‘natural’ are not often linked to sugar substitutes, but Fooditive BV wants to change that. Over the past decade, the Netherlands-based food ingredient manufacturer has been pear-suing sustain-apple solutions to combat global sugar intake. In 2018, this became a reality with its plant-based and chemical-free sweetener. Since then, Fooditive has focussed on improving the health status of products that use sugar replacements by providing an affordable alternative to other options on the market. As put by Fooditive’s Product Development Manager, Niki Karatza, “developing a sweetener that could successfully replace sugar in food products required us to first understand the true essence of sugar. We managed that by diving into the science behind sucrose, its taste and its unique functionalities.” This was achieved through an innovative process: the reverse engineering of sucrose. By starting with the end product and working backwards, it allowed Fooditive to analyse the ingredients’ properties and therefore understand how it could mimic the characteristics of sugar in its sweetener. Combining this knowledge with apple and pear waste led to the creation of Fooditive Sweetener, which is 70% as sweet as sugar and does not raise insulin or blood glucose levels. With sustainability and transitioning to a circular economy as Fooditive’s core principles, it obtains the raw materials for its sweetener in two ways. Firstly, it collaborates with Dutch farmers to salvage both organic and non-organic unwanted apples and pears, and secondly, it collects the side streams of these fruits from other production processes. Once gathered, a continuous fermentation process, which means that more sweetener can be yielded in a shorter amount of time, is used to extract fructose and convert it into keto-fructose; this end product is the sweetener. For 2021, founder and food scientist Moayad Abushokhedim has set a weekly goal to produce around 30 […]

New Zealand Food Network launches South Island branch for communities in need

The New Zealand Food Network has today announced the official opening of a second warehouse and distribution centre – in Christchurch, helping to provide an even greater level of support for food insecure communities throughout the region and beyond. One year on from the start of New Zealand’s nationwide lockdown, many Kiwis are still grappling with the financial impact of COVID-19 related job losses, redundancies and reduced hours – and the sharp increase in national food insecurity levels that came with that first lockdown has been largely sustained. Canterbury has been one of New Zealand’s hardest hit regions, with COVID-19 compounding challenges created by the 2011 earthquakes and subsequent recovery efforts. In fact, an analysis of 2018 census data reveals that, even prior to the pandemic, the Canterbury region suffered from some of the highest deprivation levels of anywhere in New Zealand. The impact of long-term border closures has also been felt particularly sharply by communities throughout Otago and Southland, as many businesses, once heavily reliant on international tourism, have been left struggling to stay afloat. New Zealand Food Network CEO, Gavin Findlay, says, “The opening of our Christchurch operation will enable us to better serve these hard-hit communities in a number of ways. “The geographic proximity means we’ll be able to respond more quickly to requests for food from food hubs around the region – providing more immediate support for communities in need. It will also enable us to tap into much-needed additional supplies from food donors throughout the South Island, that we’ve previously been unable to collect from our Auckland site. The NZFN acts as New Zealand’s food rescue facilitator, collecting and safely storing bulk food donations, with food then able to be requested on an as-needed basis (and at no cost) by approximately 40 food hubs around […]

EcoStruxure solution meets Mataura Valley Milk’s requirements

Building the world’s best nutritional business is the ambitious goal that New Zealand dairy company Mataura Valley Milk set out to achieve in August 2016. Now the company’s milk production plant is an impressive accomplishment that comfortably justifies its early ambition. Mataura Valley Milk is now benchmarking innovation and performance for other milk plants. Situated north of Gore at the bottom of the South Island, the state-of-the-art facility was delivered on-time and within budget, an impressive achievement for a greenfield project. “To achieve our goal, we knew that choosing only the best people, partners, and infrastructure was crucial,” says Brent Robinson, Mataura Valley Milk’s Projects Manager. “The success of the project was a consequence of meticulous planning and strategy. We sought out and hired the most skilled staff; we chose construction partners with proven expertise; we purchased best-in-class plant and equipment; and we partnered with industry-leading suppliers and fabricators.” Schneider Electric was one such expert partner that delivered its EcoStruxure solution, tailored to Mataura Valley Milk’s strict requirements for a fully connected and integrated facility with real-time visibility of every process. Connectivity At Mataura Valley Milk’s core is its dedication to customers. “We must have agility around what we produce with no sacrifice of quality. Producing nutritional products is a complex, high reward approach so the plant must be nimble and our expertise unmatched. To confidently make these decisions, visibility and trust in our data is crucial” says Robinson. Schneider Electric’s EcoStruxure Plant solution delivers and provides context to live, real-time data on every process at the plant through AVEVA’s System Platform, Batch Management and Manufacturing Execution System (MES) software. In short, Mataura Valley employees receive any data they require immediately and know they can trust it. Goal Mataura Valley Milk wanted to build a business that could quickly tailor production […]

Global seed Sector commits to UN goals

Nyon, Switzerland – Seed companies and associations representing all regions of the world have come together to sign a Declaration committing to actively support achievement of the United Nation’s Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and proactively demonstrate their extensive and diverse contributions towards sustainable food systems, while calling for more urgent public private cooperation. The “Seed Sector Declaration”, signed by seed companies of all sizes and geographic representation and by seed associations representing hundreds of companies per country, was launched as a part of the sector’s engagement with the UN Food Systems Summit, scheduled for September 2021. The document acknowledges the enormous challenge for agriculture to produce sufficient, safe, and nutritious food for a global population expected to reach 10 billion by 2050, amid rising pressure from climate change, effective biodiversity preservation and natural resource scarcity. On current trends, the number of hungry people is expected to reach 840 million by 2030, from 690 million at present. Through the Declaration, the seed sector players outline a common set of principles for global action supporting sustainable agriculture. “We, the actors of the private seed sector, representing its diversity, acting as individuals or as representatives of cooperatives, family-, small-, medium sized- or multinational companies, based around the world, are committed to a future where enough affordable, safe and nutritious food is produced for all without compromising the economies, societies or environments of future generations,” says the Declaration. Michael Keller, Secretary General of the International Seed Federation said: “The COVID-19 pandemic has worsened the world’s food and nutrition crisis, but it has also shown us what can be achieved when the public and private sectors work together to produce solutions. “The Declaration is an opportunity for us to demonstrate the private seed sector’s diversity and unique contributions. We believe that transforming the world’s food […]

Environmental leaders inspire and challenge farmers at dairy forum

Dairy farmers at the Dairy Environment Leaders Forum in Wellington have heard first-hand what will be required of all New Zealanders in order to meet our climate change obligations. The Wellington forum’s first day opened on Tuesday (17 March) with keynote speaker Climate Change Commission chair Dr Rodd Carr, followed by Climate Change Minister James Shaw and speakers from other sectors. Dr Carr told the group of around 40 Dairy Environment Leaders at the two day forum that all New Zealanders have a responsibility to begin reducing emissions if we are to rise to the climate challenge. “Human beings have a carbon footprint, no matter what we do,” said Dr Carr. “So it’s about containing it, and how we contain it. The climate waits for no-one. As a nation, we can choose what we do, but we can’t choose not to reduce emissions. “So it’s about our share of the responsibility. The science is now so clear that we have to act because greenhouse gases are causing the climate to change. The needle on the dial is moving toward doing what we can, when we can. “There is technical feasibility, economic effects and social acceptance we need to address. I think the journey is underway, we just have to configure how we do it. Long-term, we will need a technological break-through.” Climate Change Minister James Shaw echoed that view, saying there are diverse tools farmers can use in different farm conditions across New Zealand and there is time to achieve the changes. “We can get to where we need to, over the next 30 years, with the options we have now,” said Mr Shaw. “Fortunately, we are not starting from scratch, there’s been a lot of good work done in the last five years, including through the He Waka Eke […]

Conference focuses on new future for pastoral industries

An international virtual conference that focuses on cultivating a shift towards more sustainable and ethical grazing systems will involve presentations from experts all over the world. Hosted by Lincoln University, the series includes six weekly online workshops, to take place between 31 May and 5 July 2021. Livestock Production Professor Pablo Gregorini says the event is not to be missed, as no other scientific convention in the world offers such breadth of topic coverage. “We’re aiming to influence future theoretical and practical models of pastoralism with a series of talks from a wide range of experts. Participants will be exposed to cutting-edge thinking and practice, with an international audience of scientists, academics, postgraduate students and policymakers, as well as farmers from around the world.” Discussions will centre on re-imagining models of pastoralism by referring to what Prof Gregorini refers to as “grazing in future multiscapes”. The “multiscapes” include thoughtscapes (ways of thinking), landscapes (environments including soil, water and air), foodscapes (dietary perceptions and health), socialscapes (societal demands), and wildscapes (issues relating to interactions between agriculture and wildlife). Keynote speakers will cover subjects as diverse as system thinking, rangeland, grasslands, grazing management, ecology, indigenous development, agroecology, environmental ethics and sustainability, economic sociology, natural resources management, and landscape design. Prof Gregorini is Head of Lincoln University’s Centre of Excellence: Designing Future Productive Landscapes, director of the Lincoln University Pastoral Livestock Production Lab and Chair of the International Scientific Committee for the Nutrition of Herbivores. These organisations all seek to explore and re-imagine future agricultural and pastoral industries while considering the sociological and cultural context for an evolving world.

New pastures on the horizon

The Blue Sky Pastures board is pleased to announce its appointment of a new CEO for the company, Jim Goodall. The announcement comes as former CEO Todd Grave departs the Southland meat processor, taking up a new role as CEO of Meadow Mushrooms in Christchurch. Board chairman Scott O’Donnell said he was looking forward to welcoming Goodall to the team and was confident his extensive red meat industry experience would continue to strengthen the company’s forward trajectory. “Jim’s skillset and experience are a great fit for Blue Sky – we’re looking forward to Jim leading the business into its next chapter, where the focus will turn to capturing more value for the company and suppliers,” he said. Goodall brings with him a long career in the meat industry. He began his career at Weddel Tomoana in the Hawke’s Bay in 1988 and has spent time working in New Zealand, Australia, the UK and USA, bringing with him a diverse portfolio of knowledge and business development. His governance and leadership experience is extensive. Currently, Goodall is a director of Lean Meats Ltd and Atkins Ranch Holdings Ltd, and CEO of Atkins Ranch – a US retail-focused lamb marketer. He is also CEO of Progressive Meats, a specialist toll processor of lamb, mutton, goat and beef in the Hawke’s Bay. Goodall said value extraction from quality produce linked to point of difference supply programmes which provide premium returns to farmers were among some of the building blocks he hoped to bring to his new role. “I’m looking forward to joining the Blue Sky Pastures team, discovering its point of difference and getting alongside all stakeholders, particularly our farmer suppliers,” he said. Departing CEO Todd Grave was pleased to see Blue Sky’s leadership in good hands and wished Goodall well. “Working with Blue […]

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