Developments

DairyNZ acknowledges passing of John Luxton

DairyNZ chairman Jim van der Poel and chief executive Dr Tim Mackle have today expressed their sadness at the passing of former DairyNZ chairman, the Hon John Luxton. Hon John Luxton stepped down from the role of chairman in November 2015 after more than a decade of service to DairyNZ, and a lifetime of service to the dairy industry. Mr van der Poel and Dr Mackle say he will be remembered for his longstanding, unfaltering contribution to the rural sector, particularly dairy. “John has had a major role in the success of New Zealand’s dairy industry. John has always demonstrated strong leadership and longstanding commitment to the sector,” says Mr van der Poel. “John was instrumental in a number of significant policy and legislative changes in New Zealand, including the foundation policy work that led to the formation of Fonterra and the deregulation of producer boards. “One of his major achievements was shaping the development of DairyNZ – the first industry-good body of its kind and the largest in Australasia.” Hon John Luxton played a major role in helping guide the dairy industry through a significant period of change, which would soon become New Zealand’s number one export industry. He was instrumental in supporting a successful, viable, competitive dairy industry in New Zealand, with the sector employing 42,240 people and contributing $13.2 billion to New Zealand’s export revenue during his time as chair of DairyNZ. Dr Mackle says he will remember Mr Luxton for always being very supportive and being a statesman and diplomat who could bring people together. “John was an influential leader who unified the dairy sector from dairy companies through to local and central government departments,” he says. “He led by values, had enormous integrity, and always put the best interests of those in the rural sector […]

Marketing solution enables Kiwi wineries to sell to international consumers

From September, Wine Collective Direct, a global marketplace where New Zealand wine producers have their own e-cellar door, is adding a Digital Success Programme to its offering. The Wine Collective Direct (WCD) team know that international digital wine marketing can be daunting and so has created a collaborative digital marketing solution to help local winegrowers better market their craft wine to the world. “We’re absolutely thrilled to see producers experiencing high-value direct sales on the platform since launching in May this year. It’s evident that the producers who are making early sales (averaging $606.59 NZD per case and $52.57 per bottle) are proactively promoting their international e-cellar doors across their own digital channels,” says Ryann Calder, Manager of Producer Growth at Wine Collective Direct. “However, it’s highlighted to us that a large majority of wineries find driving international sales and promotions online a challenge.” The Digital Success Programme (DSP) solves the problem of many local wine producers not having the tools, time, or financial resources to reach international consumers via effective digital marketing methods. In 2019, NZ Winegrowers reported that 776, 599 international wine tourists visited New Zealand and spent $3.26 billion. It’s no secret that wine tourism is the lifeblood of many local vineyards, but with borders closed there are no international visitors at the cellar door. Wine Collective Direct recognises that digital promotion online is the most effective means of connecting with international customers in this current climate. “Different to the fast-moving commodity wine category, the craft wine category is characterised by consumers actively looking to connect at a personal level with the actual producer. Despite the decline in international tourists, overseas consumers haven’t lost their passion to discover the premium wines of Aotearoa,” says Calder. The Digital Success Programme harnesses the aggregate power of 100,000+ detailed data […]

Preparing businesses for the future

New Zealand businesses will be able to find exciting innovation opportunities thanks to new globally unique digital identifiers for different parts of their business. NZBN Organisation Parts, linked to a business’s legal entity identifier, the New Zealand Business Number (NZBN), and reinforced by a global international standard, will accelerate businesses’ adoption of digital ways of working. A business can assign Organisation Part identifiers to its different physical or logical parts (e.g., branches, departments, and delivery addresses) to enable accurate, safe digital interactions, and ensure key messages between trading partners (e.g., purchase orders, invoices, and deliveries) will be directed to the right place. “Organisation Parts will future-proof and empower businesses to innovate, digitise, and compete in the evolving digital economy”, says Ross van der Schyff, General Manager Business & Consumer at the Ministry of Business, Innovation & Employment (MBIE). “The NZBN ecosystem has evolved to meet customer needs and now reflects New Zealand businesses’ structures and digital interactions. Organisation Parts will help businesses prepare for exciting opportunities, such as e-invoicing, secure transactions, and cloud-based information sharing, available with the growing digital economy.” Dr Peter Stevens CEO, GS1 New Zealand, noted the importance of businesses being globally connected for New Zealand’s status as a trading nation. “GS1’s Global Location Numbers were chosen by the Government in 2013 because they are globally unique, and part of a credible international system with strong links to trade and supply chain logistics. “Future uses of Organisation Parts could include creating digital pathways to track food from the paddock to the plate, car parts to the manufacturer, and medicine to specific cabinets in a hospital.” Active tech investor Serge van Dam says that the NZBN – now augmented with Organisation Parts – is the unique digital key that the digital ecosystem needs. “If businesses, technology providers and […]

DairyNZ-CE-Dr-Tim-Mackle-NZF-Methane-article

Dairy sector backs global methane pledge

The New Zealand dairy sector is committed to playing its part to reduce global methane levels by 30 percent by 2030. Global methane does need to reduce and the dairy sector will do its fair share to reduce emissions alongside all sectors. However, DairyNZ chief executive Dr Tim Mackle (pictured) says he wants farmers to know the pledge doesn’t mean dairy farming emissions need to reduce by 30 percent, and for the Government to acknowledge this. “New Zealand dairy is already the world’s most emissions-efficient dairy milk producer, and dairy farmers are continuing their work on-farm to reduce emissions,” says Dr Mackle. “Methane is derived from the energy, agriculture and waste sectors, and the pledge focuses on reducing methane from fossil fuels. New Zealand already has a robust 2030 methane target for agriculture in the Zero Carbon Act. The dairy sector and agritech companies have a lot of work underway to achieve it,” says Dr Mackle. Climate Change Minister James Shaw today announced at the UN climate change conference, COP26, that New Zealand is signing the global pledge led by the European Union and the United States. The pledge is clear it does not replace the need to reduce carbon dioxide emissions, which dominate not only the overall level of warming but also the speed of warming. It also states a global methane reduction of 30 percent by 2030 has the potential to avoid 0.2 degrees Celsius of warming by 2050. The pledge focuses mainly on reducing methane from fossil fuels because the best least-cost opportunities exist there. It acknowledges agricultural methane and calls for technology innovation, incentives and partnerships in that sector. The new pledge is a collective target, rather than requiring each country to reduce overall methane emissions by 30 percent. “New Zealand already has a clear […]

Fonterra and Vitakey to enhance dairy’s contribution to health and wellness

Looking to a future where it is likely that many foods will be more valued for their specific health benefits, Fonterra and VitaKey Inc. has announced a transformative dairy science collaboration to further unlock the benefits of Fonterra’s probiotic strains. VitaKey specialises in precision delivery of nutrition – an emerging area of research that seeks to deliver the right nutrients, in the right amount, to the right part of the body at the right time. Co-founded by Dr. Robert Langer, the VitaKey delivery technology platform for nutrients is based on technology licensed from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and developed at the Langer Lab, the largest academic biomedical engineering lab in the world. Utilising VitaKey’s proprietary technology and customised solutions, Fonterra is looking to design dairy products that incorporate targeted and time-controlled release of specific dairy nutrients, starting with probiotics, in a way that locks in the freshness for longer and allows the nutrients to be more active and beneficial in the body. Judith Swales, CEO for Fonterra’s Asia Pacific region, says the collaboration is part of Fonterra’s long-term strategy and ambition to be a leader in dairy innovation and nutrition science. “Our Co-op has a long and proud heritage of dairy innovation, pioneering many world firsts and, increasingly, new solutions which aim to help people live healthier and longer lives. “Home to one of the largest dairy culture libraries in the world, our Research and Development Centre contains more than 40,000 strains. Two of these strains, LactoB 001 and BifidoB 019, address key health concerns such as digestive issues and immunity and are recognised as being in the top five global probiotics. “By partnering with VitaKey, we aim to ‘make nature better’ by combining the goodness of our New Zealand milk with […]

New appointments at Asahi Beverages NZ support continued growth

Asahi Beverages NZ has appointed people into senior roles to support ongoing growth, build capability and provide opportunities for its people as it continues to invest in establishing itself as one of New Zealand’s leading beverages companies. CEO Andrew Campbell says the appointments reflect Asahi Beverages NZ is a growing business focused on delivering preferred alcohol and non-alcohol beverages to valued customers and consumers, as well as attracting and retaining great talent. “We’re excited to be welcoming new people to our team who bring with them outstanding, and in several cases, global experience to drive future growth.” Tom Robinson is among those joining the business in a newly-created role of GM Supply Chain based at Asahi Beverage’s Papakura manufacturing site. British-born Robinson is currently Plant Manager at Asahi Beverages’ Yatala Brewery on the Gold Coast, which is Australia’s largest brewery. A highly experienced and effective site GM, Robinson has run multiple brewing and cider making operations and held his role at Yatala for over 11 years. He was previously a Head of Manufacturing for Heineken based in the UK for four years. Robinson has also worked for leading UK brewers Scottish and Newcastle and has a degree in Chemical Engineering. He has commenced his new role remotely and will move to Auckland when the travel bubble between Queensland and Auckland reopens. Asahi Beverages NZ has also appointed Mark McGuire to the new role of NZ Capital Projects Manager responsible for the businesses’ supply chain function. McGuire has been with Asahi Beverages NZ for over 12 years and was previously Manufacturing Operations Manager.

Fliss-Roberts-founder-of-PlantMe-with-seed-envelopes-NZF

NZ start-up empowers Kiwis to grow-their-own vegetables

Kiwis keen to get their green fingers moving, save money and be more self-sufficient can start their own gardening journey thanks to an innovative seed delivery service and digital growing guide complete with a world-first rewards system. Topped off with a planting diary and an online marketplace to encourage collaboration and help Kiwis take small steps in their own backyard to reverse climate change, PlantMe.io is one-stop digital platform. “The idea is to encourage more people to get growing at home as meaningful climate action while also improving nutrition, health and wellness and your bank balance,” says PlantMe founder and CEO Fliss Roberts. “We’re building crypto rewards that will be a world-first in rewarding individuals for their climate action and bio-diversity restoration, and now we are inviting Kiwis to sign up to the platform and be citizen scientists to help us prove what’s possible and generate the data.” Wellington-based Fliss first had the idea for PlantMe at the end of 2018 to help individuals, families and the wider community start localising food and to make a collective impact on our bio-diversity and emissions. With an MBA in Sustainability, Fliss, who heads up Greenback, a female led green-tech start-up supporting collective climate action, got to work on building the PlantMe.io app. With the help of volunteer software developers, many fresh out of university and keen to apply their newly-learned skills to a business with a purpose, Fliss was able to launch PlantMe in 2019. PlantMe is inviting more Kiwis to sign up to have seeds delivered to their homes on a monthly, or quarterly, basis so they can grow their own fruit and vegetables with confidence. Subscribers are then supported on their gardening journey by digital growing guides, and seed choice is made depending on the recipient’s location to ensure optimal […]

Tourism reset would hurt agricultural exporters

The Government’s proposal to reduce future international tourism visitor numbers post-COVID to concentrate on higher spending visitors may solve one problem but create others. Research by Lincoln University’s Dr Rob Radics, Dr Muhammad Umar, and Associate Professor Anthony Brien, highlighted that most of our agricultural products delivered fresh to market are transported on passenger planes, and tourists contribute to the cost. The drop in tourism numbers could push up transport costs to the point some businesses do not export at all and are put out of business. Their work showed that before COVID-19 hit, there were 550 international flights into and out of New Zealand each week, which carried 80% of New Zealand’s overall export airfreight in their belly-holds, and that it was worth $10.8 billion in December 2019. Only 20% of New Zealand’s airfreight was carried by dedicated air cargo-only freighters. Before COVID-19, air freight was less than 1% of New Zealand’s total trade by volume, but about 16% in terms of dollar value. The report raised that the decision may show a lack of understanding of the inter-relatedness of industries. “What COVID-19 has highlighted is the not previously considered symbiotic relationship of some sectors of the New Zealand agriculture industry and tourism.” Transport costs have already gone up because of reduced flights, as In March 2020, COVID-19 bought tourism to a halt and reduced airfreight capacity. This resulted in an immediate increase in competition for freight space and the Government stepped in to fund additional dedicated airfreight cargo flights to ensure the export of perishable products. It initially funded 53 weekly flights to key export markets. By November 2020, airfreight flights (dedicated cargo and empty-of-passenger flights) had increased to 120 per week; however, export freight costs also increased as producers competed for space on flights. The top product […]

Delivering calm in the kitchen

Fonterra’s Foodservice business, Anchor Food Professionals (AFP), has reached a milestone to become a $3 billion NZD annual revenue business. Fonterra CEO Miles Hurrell says the success is down to the Co-op’s strong connection to customers who value our sustainably produced, high-quality, nutritious milk and innovative products. “It’s really pleasing to see this milestone be reached despite the impact of COVID-19 on restaurants and other out-of-home eating. Our people have worked hard to find new ways of working with customers and new product applications to suit the pandemic environment, and we can see this has been a success. “Foodservice is a high value channel for our farmers’ milk and a key part of our long-term strategy. This is why we’re aiming to increase our milk solids into Foodservice by approximately 50% by 2030 and grow our presence across further markets including Greater China, South East Asia and the USA. “To support our Co-op’s growth to 2030, we intend to invest about $1 billion in moving milk into higher value products and increase our R&D budget by 50%. These investments will enable further product innovation in the Foodservice channel, among other things, and help put us on track to meet our next Foodservice target of becoming a $5 billion annual revenue business,” says Mr Hurrell. Fonterra’s Director Global Foodservice Paul Harvey says Anchor Food Professionals chefs works alongside customers in their kitchens to match their needs with our Co-op’s dairy innovation expertise. “To offer solutions we need to know what the problem is, and in many cases the issues are in the kitchen, and that’s where we are spending much more time with our customers who want our help. “We now have 55 chefs around the world who go into kitchens like this where […]

FarmIQ acquires Farmax in strategic partnership with AgResearch

Two leading agricultural software providers will join forces to create a value proposition for New Zealand’s pastoral farmers. FarmIQ Systems and Crown Research Institute (CRI) AgResearch have formed a strategic partnership with the acquisition of Farmax – a decision support tool for farmers. AgResearch will become a shareholder in FarmIQ Systems and FarmIQ’s preferred provider of science and research going forward. CEO of FarmIQ, Will Noble, said the partnership was long overdue as both organisations have shared the same vision for the agriculture sector since its inception from the Primary Growth Partnership in 2010. “If we want to become the leading decision support platform of choice for all pastoral farmers in New Zealand, then having AgResearch as a shareholder and the Farmax product to our whanau, brings with it strong industry credibility and a vast amount of science to our software – it’s incredibly exciting for our farming customers and the industry as a whole”. The agricultural ‘science’ integrated within Farmax makes it unique and has helped deliver real impact to the sector estimated to be $1.1 billion in increased gross margin over the last decade alone. AgResearch Director of Technology and Digital Services Greg Rossiter said the decision was made as part of the CRI’s commitment to providing the agricultural industry with quality science and software-based decision support tools. Going forward FarmIQ will invest the capital and provide the infrastructure to take Farmax to the next level, which was not considered AgResearch’s core business. Mr Rossiter said “the partnership delivers our scientists opportunities to collaborate and strengthen relationships with key partners and FarmIQ shareholders”. Gavin McEwen, CEO of Farmax views the partnership as having plenty of benefits for Farmax’s own customers. “The business will continue to provide its standalone products and services to our valued customers. Our goal is to unlock tangible benefits to all by improving interoperability and integration between both applications […]

«‹ 11 12 13 14 ›»

News Ticker

Developments