Business

Strong outlook for primary sector exports

The Ministry for Primary Industries expect meat and wool, horticulture and forestry export revenues will support New Zealand’s primary sector export growth to 2017, and help offset the recent year’s fall in the dairy sector. The signs across the primary sector are encouraging with New Zealand’s primary sector export revenue expected to increase to $37.6 billion in the year ending June 2016, up $1.9 billion from the year ended June 2015, according to the Ministry for Primary Industries updated Situation and Outlook for Primary Industries (SOPI). The December update incorporates changes to export volumes and currency movements from MPI’s previous June 2015 SOPI publication. The meat and wool sector is expected to continue its strong growth, with a forecast revenue increase of $910 million to June 2016 (or 10% from June 2015 actual figures) due to strong demand for beef exports from the United States. New Zealand will meet its allowable beef export quota to the USA this season for the first time since 2004. Chinese demand for wool also remains strong. Milk production is expected to be down 7 per cent this season compared to last, due to current dairy prices. However, prices are expected to rebound by late 2016, early 2017, as current dairy stocks are worked through and demand levels increase. The forestry sector is forecast to grow $613 million, even though Chinese demand for logs is reduced due to a continuing slowdown in the Chinese construction sector. MPI expects an increase in exported timber volumes to help offset this reduction in log exports. The seafood sector will be supported by favourable climatic conditions and the opening of two new salmon farms which will contribute to an expected $200 million export revenue increase in this area. Pipfruit and wine revenues continue to grow as kiwifruit yields reach […]

Celebrating soils in the Hub

Scientists, students, local government and industry representatives gathered at Lincoln University last week to celebrate the International Year of Soils at a workshop that focussed on the profound importance of soils globally and to New Zealand. The New Zealand Society of Soil Science organised the workshop with the intention of bringing together Lincoln Hub partners, members of other local research institutions, industry bodies and regulatory authorities to talk about the management and protection of soil resources in New Zealand, where the growing intensity of farming is making soil-related issues more urgent. Summing up the day’s talks, Dr David Whitehead of Landcare Research said the workshop was an example of “smarter science”, connecting across disciplines and sharing resources to find solutions to common problems. Dr Whitehead emphasised the importance of collaboration in the context of global climate change, saying innovation is required to transform agricultural systems and lower the environmental footprint of agriculture without losing productivity. “New Zealand’s livelihood and economy relies on the land. We need to keep doing research on soils. We need knowledge and good management to maintain our agricultural systems and be sustainable.” The diverse range of presentations at the workshop, covering irrigation, soil borne diseases, cultivation, grazing, plant-soil interactions, technology, dairy farming, nutrient loss and greenhouse gas emissions, illustrated the crucial role soil plays in every area of life and the need for cooperation to effect change. Plant and Food Research’s Dr Trish Fraser is a member of the Society of Soil Science and helped organise the event. “We wanted to organise the day to not only raise the importance of soil, but also for local researchers in the vicinity of the Lincoln Hub to become more aware of each others’ current activities in soil research, for the students to get a snapshot of the research […]

New Animal Reports a key feature in latest Overseer upgrade

Checking animal location and grazing behaviour is part of the updated suite of reports for the widely-used farm management tool, Overseer. The placement of animals on farm can have a significant impact on predicted nutrient losses, and so the new reports allow for review of where animals are placed, making it easier to test the potential outcomes of changing the location of livestock and adjusting stocking rates. While farmers have a good knowledge of where their animals are on a farm, checking where they have been entered into Overseer has been more difficult. The release of Version 6.2.1 has made this easier through the inclusion of a series of animal reports that describe how the software manages grazing animals. “Overseer is now in its sixth full version upgrade, with multiple enhancements made to the software between versions to include further management options and to address issues that arise as the software is developed,” says Caroline Read, General Manager of Overseer. “The new Animal Reports are a response to demand for more information and a greater understanding of how Overseer manages information,” she says. She believes the interest in Overseer demonstrates New Zealand’s desire to farm efficiently and effectively. “The Overseer story is one that dates right back to the 1990s, with the very first Overseer software application being produced in 1999. Just like updates to other software, such as smartphone operating systems, the Overseer software has been kept updated over time to meet the changing needs of its users,” she says. “We often field questions and ideas regarding the use of Overseer, and because there is nothing else like it in New Zealand, the development possibilities are far-reaching.” she says. Six exciting strategic initiatives have been identified for the future development of Overseer, which will be revealed at the launch the Overseer […]

George Weston Foods in Australasia

George Weston Foods Limited (GWF) is one of Australia and New Zealand’s largest food manufacturers employing over 6,500 people across 58 sites. http://www.georgewestonfoods.com.au/our-business/

Asure Quality Academy

Food safety assurance provider AsureQuality is the first Conformity Assessment Body (CAB) in the world to be both accredited to the new FSSC22000-Q scheme, and to issue accredited FSSC22000-Q certification to a customer. http://www.asurequality.com

IrrigationNZ calls for 350,000 ha more land to be irrigated by 2025, lifting total by 50%

IrrigationNZ is calling for a dramatic escalation in irrigation, saying New Zealand could bring water to an additional 350,000 hectares by 2025, boosting agricultural production and providing a buffer against weather events such as El Nino-induced drought. The lobby group wants a 50 percent increase in irrigated land in the next 10 years, according to its industry snapshot released today. New Zealand currently has approximately 720,000 hectares of irrigated land, and IrrigationNZ has produced a map showing where irrigation could be expanded, pushing total watered land to more than 1 million hectares. Chief executive Andrew Curtis said New Zealand’s primary production growth is being hampered by a lack of a reliable water supply, which ultimately holds back economic growth. “Much of regional New Zealand’s future success is reliant on community water infrastructure developments that create wins for both the economy and environment,” Curtis said. New Zealand currently extracts around 2 percent of available water, excluding the 3 percent used for hydro-power, and taking another 1 percent “would significantly grow the wider economy,” he said. Irrigated farm land generated an estimated $2.7 billion to the New Zealand economy, the lobby group said in 2012. New Zealand is “a water-rich country” and water extraction “is extremely low” compared to other countries, where irrigation can account for 50-70 percent of water use, Curtis said. Irrigation for agriculture and horticulture currently uses around 60 per cent of New Zealand’s extracted water, according to IrrigationNZ. Half of New Zealand’s irrigated land is used for dairy farming, a quarter is taken up by sheep and beef finishing, and the remaining quarter is made up by vegetable and arable crops, along with fruit and wine growing. IrrigationNZ’s map of future irrigation adds a potential 200,000 ha to the existing 444,777 ha of irrigated land in Canterbury. In […]

FAR announces new North Island cropping event

North Island farmers are being invited to update their cropping knowledge at a new one-day field event on Thursday 10 December. The field day, run by FAR, is being held at FAR’s Northern Crop Research Site at Tamahere, near Hamilton. CEO Nick Pyke says FAR, which carries out levy funded research and extension for the cropping industry, holds similar events in the South Island, but has not attempted an outdoor event of this scale in the North Island before. “Generally, our Northern Crop Research Site hosts a series of smaller, subject specific, field days, but this year we have responded to the interests of our farmers and increased the scale and information to be presented at the event. The event will run to a similar schedule as our South Island Arable Research in Action event (ARIA), which is held at our mid-Canterbury research site every second year. “Visitors on the day will have the opportunity to hear up to 12 presentations on subjects ranging from Overseer® and forage rotations, to slug control and precision agriculture. Each session will run twice, once in the morning and again after lunch, to allow those who are short on time to attend for only half a day and still have access to a range of topical speakers. “The day will also provide a great opportunity to tour the Northern Crop Research Site, meet FAR staff and learn more about FAR’s crop research strategy.” Mr Pyke says he hopes to see farmers and industry personnel from across the Waikato and beyond at the event. “While this event is being held in the Waikato, the topics being discussed on the day will be of relevance to farmers from across the North Island. Around 400 people attended our last ARIA event in the South Island, and we […]

Too many farmers flying blind when it comes to financial information

“You wouldn’t fly a plane without instruments these days would you?” questions Craig Sanders, an agribusiness and cloud accounting specialist at Crowe Horwath. However, when it comes to farming, that’s exactly what he believes is happening too often on New Zealand farms. “There are too many farmers effectively flying blind without the right kind of financial information to make sound farm management decisions,” says Sanders. Many farmers only get a fully detailed account of their financial position following a review of their end-of-year accounts with their accountant, which is often too late to make adjustments for a better financial outcome. Given the current market situation Sanders stressed that this is no longer good enough, and now more than ever farmers need accurate real-time financial information. “While volatility is nothing new for New Zealand agribusinesses, large increases in farm debt over the past decade, particularly in the dairy sector, have put pressure on the industry during the recent fall in milk prices.” Sanders explained that while all farming operations face pressure when aspects such as prices fluctuate rapidly, highly leveraged operations often have less room to move. “Rapid or unforseen changes in circumstances such as a major climatic event or a fall in the payout can lead to severe outcomes for under-prepared farmers, especially those with highly leveraged operations.” Sanders continued, “This means those farming businesses need to be fully aware of their current financial position, know what drives their costs, be prepared to review budgets regularly as things change, and be able to make decisions based on the best possible financial information.” Sanders noted that farmers are often very good at tracking cash, but when it comes to the true impact of decisions on their bottom line, things are often a little murky. He points to selling stock as a […]

2015 NZIAHS AGMARDT Technology Transfer Award

Diana Mathers from FAR is the recipient of the 2015 New Zealand Institute of Agricultural and Horticultural Science AGMARDT Technology Transfer Award. The award was made in recognition of the significant impact of her work around environmental and economic sustainability on cropping farms. Diana is FAR’s Cropping Systems Research Manager, a role she has held for the last six years. In that time has worked hard to support cropping farmers in the areas of economic and environmental sustainability. The Technology Transfer Award recognised the significant impact of her work in both these areas, especially with regard to effective on-farm environmental management. The testimonial highlighted her work developing and delivering nutrient management plans, and more recently, a Farm Environment Plan template, for cropping farmers. Also mentioned was her work investigating cropping options and opportunities in relation to the proposed Ruataniwha Water Storage Scheme, on-farm biodiversity projects and looking into the impacts of winter grazing on cropping farms. Diana’s extension work is backed up by her involvement in a number of national and regional research projects, which focus on ensuring high quality information is made available to farmers in a format that is easy to understand and apply. As well as the dairy grazing and biodiversity projects, Diana is involved in a national project assessing drainage and N loss from crop systems, national projects on Overseer evaluation and regional projects such as those assessing crop options for the Ruataniwha, and the Matrix for Good Management in Canterbury. In all these projects she focuses on using data collected on farm and farmers’ own records to inform improved on-farm decision making. Diana is also a representative on a number of regional council groups throughout New Zealand where she helps to ensure policy is practically aligned with farm practices, particularly in relation to nutrient management, […]

Government needs to go further to protect migrant workers

Reports that more than 1000 Filipinos working on New Zealand dairy farms may be caught up in a document scam further highlights the inadequacies of the Government’s Essential Skills work visa regulations, according to the Recruitment and Consulting Services Association, Australia and New Zealand (RCSA). RCSA is the leading industry and professional body for the private employment services sector in New Zealand. John Harland, Chair of the RCSA New Zealand Region Council, said that his organisation has been lobbying unsuccessfully the Government, and in particular Immigration Minister Michael Woodhouse, about the narrow focus of an accreditation scheme that is now required only of labour hire companies. “We are very supportive of any moves to help and protect the rights of migrant workers. The Government is introducing a new Labour Hire Accreditation Scheme on January 1, 2016, and all it will do is police the law abiders and let the law breakers roam free. “They have the chance now to crack down right across a number of industries to protect migrant workers, yet all they are doing is policing labour hire companies and not focusing on the poor practices of employers and other parties across all of the different strands that make up the migrant worker hire industry,” he said. The Government’s new immigration policy was developed in response to migrant workers in the Christchurch rebuild being exploited by unethical employers. “RCSA believes that this visa scam is a perfect example of the illegal and unethical practices that occur mainly outside the labour hire industry, perfectly illustrating how the new legislation’s focus on making labour hire companies become accredited misses the point. “Under the new Essential Skills visa scheme an accredited company can bring a worker into the country and that worker can leave that company the day after they arrive […]

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