Developments

The top performers in New Zealand’s food industry have been announced, with 47 products developed by 39 primary food producers, food service providers and ingredient supply companies named as national finalists in the New Zealand Food Awards for 2015. Competition was particularly tough this year with entries up 40% compared to 2014, with almost 150 products from 79 food and beverage producers vying for an award. A broad range of entrants from niche operators to large scale producers will compete to take out the top spot in a number of categories including food safety, export, convenience and gourmet, as well as the ultimate accolade of the Massey University Supreme Award. Finalists in this year’s competition include Fonterra, Chef Series by Josh Emett and Whittaker’s, with a strong presence from Wellington, Nelson and Auckland food manufacturers. Massey University Assistant Vice-Chancellor – External Relations, Penelope Barr-Sellers, says the awards are a fantastic opportunity to showcase new initiatives in New Zealand food and beverage production and manufacturing. “Massey University is proud to own and organise the NZ Food Awards, supporting our biggest export sector by providing a forum to celebrate industry excellence and innovation,” she says. “With a long and proud history of driving innovation in agriculture and food, continuing to support the development and growth of these sectors is integral to what we do.” Judges at this year’s NZ Food Awards have been impressed with the level of innovation in entries across the sector this year. Food writer Nici Wickes and Auckland restauranteur Geoff Scott say the growth and quality of entries is a testament to New Zealand’s thriving food industry. “New Zealand’s food industry is going through a period of growth, with new ideas, new technology and new techniques emerging in the market. The innovation we’re seeing is fantastic for New […]

The two shareholder groups representing Silver Fern Farms and Alliance farmers have joined forces in a bid to encourage the two meat cooperatives to follow suit and work collaboratively. Each shareholder group has separately gained the 5 percent farmer support needed to call special meetings of their respective cooperatives to try and force the boards to investigate the benefits and risks of a merger, though dates have not yet been set for either. Alliance shareholder Jeff Grant said it is best to wait on the outcome of Silver Fern Farm’s current capital raising before holding either meeting. “If the capital raise changes the structure of the cooperative to be a non cooperative or in foreign ownership then it would be pointless having an SGM (special general meeting) at all,” he said. Silver Fern Farms suspended trading of its shares on the Unlisted exchange in late July while it tried to raise $100 million of new capital through investment bank Goldman Sachs. The company said today the capital raise process is continuing though it’s understood from meat industry sources an announcement could emerge by the end of the week. Grant said it seemed sensible to hold the Silver Fern Farms meeting first, followed by the Alliance one. He said the SFF board had indicated this will likely mean the SGMs will be held in late September or October but the timing is ultimately in the hands of the cooperative boards. Silver Fern Farms shareholder Allan Richardson said there remains an opportunity for the two groups to work together over the next couple of months to continue encouraging the two cooperatives to find a pathway forward for farmer shareholders which will give some confidence in the industry. Grant said the farmer feedback is that they want the two cooperative chairmen to take […]

Hamish Gates from Pukekohe has been named Young Grower of the Year 2015.  Hamish secured his place at the national competition after being named New Zealand Young Vegetable Grower 2015 in April. The carrot washline supervisor works for AS Wilcox & Sons in Pukekohe. The final phase of the competition saw five regional champions battle it out in a series of practical and theoretical challenges that tested their essential industry knowledge and skills. Julian Raine, President of Horticulture New Zealand, said the competition demonstrated the high calibre of ability in the country. “We have come to expect an outstanding level of talent in the competition and this year’s finalists were no exception. The knowledge and skills Hamish showed throughout the competition clearly demonstrated his ability to succeed in this industry. He gave each challenge his all, and it was this commitment that helped him come out on top.” The challenges ranged from an environment and sustainability exercise, to pest and disease identification, and quad bike health and safety. Competitors also had to participate in a leadership panel, and present a three-minute speech on the role of innovation and technology in the industry. Hamish, 24, said winning the national Young Grower of the Year 2015 title was an honour given the standard of the competition. “I feel really privileged to have won the competition. The other growers are at the top of their game and it was a tough challenge, so I am proud to be able to take this award back to Pukekohe,” says Hamish. “I learned a lot from the competition and have gained a huge amount of confidence in my ability as a grower. Hopefully my success will encourage other young people from across New Zealand to get into this great industry.” As Young Grower of the Year […]

An international soil scientist says restocking the world’s arable soil with carbon is more important than climate change. Dr John Baker says too many people around the world treat soil like dirt when it should be revered because “our lives depend on it.” He believes that because soil isn’t sexy, is not on our radar and is metaphorically beneath us, it’s taken for granted by many farmers and ignored by politicians and city dwellers. “Instead people are besotted by climate change when improving soil health and feeding the world is more important,” he says. “Climate change, while serious, is not going to starve you but the rape of our soil over the last 1,000 years through traditional tillage methods, is already leading to reduced crop yields and will eventually result in famine and malnutrition.” Dr Baker says alarming figures provided by the United National Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) and the UK Farmers Weekly suggest the quality of soil is rapidly diminishing. FAO predicts the world, on average, has 60 more years of growing crops left while the Farmers Weekly claims that only 100 harvests remain in the UK. Eighty percent of the world’s food comes from crops. Ironically climate change and soil health are closely related and can benefit each other Dr Baker, who has a MAgrSc in soil science and Ph.D in agricultural engineering from Massey University, New Zealand, explains. “Soil health is strongly influenced by the amount of carbon in the soil. That carbon has been oxidised by conventional tillage (ploughing) and even minimum tillage and discharged as carbon dioxide back into the atmosphere. Tillage does nothing to recapture it,” he says. “As a result the carbon that was in the soil is now in the atmosphere and contributes to climate change when it should be back […]

  London – The food industry needs to take greater steps towards sustainable development. This was one of the key messages from the Sustainable Foods Summit (www.sustainablefoodssummit.com), hosted in Amsterdam in June. Soil fertility, carbon management, regulatory framework, and sustainable food production were stated as major areas of concern. The importance of soil fertility for sustainability was expressed by Professor Pablo Tittonell from Wageningen University. He showed how soil fertility has a direct impact on plant and animal health. He called for sustainable farming practices to improve nutrient quality in soil. A similar message was echoed by Tobias Bandel from Soil & More: improved soil structure produces lower water footprint, greater nutrient quality, as well as carbon sequestration. Dominic Watkins from DWF highlighted the regulatory uncertainty in the European food industry. With fears of a Grexit and the UK holding an in-out referendum, it was not clear what the EU would look like in a few years, let alone the regulatory landscape. He believes the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP) could escalate food trade between the US and EU. However, a major challenge is harmonisation since there was ‘a huge chasm’ in regulations between the two sides. According to Wessanen, the future of the food industry lies with sustainable foods. By the use of food pyramids, Laurence Beck showed how the healthiest food has the lowest environmental impact. She stated the strategy of her company was to focus on organic and health foods. As part of this strategy, it had acquired Clipper, Alter Eco and Isola Bio in recent years, and was looking for similar such companies. The food industry needs to act if it is to avert a carbon crisis. This was the message from Craig Sams, founder and president of Green & Black’s, in his keynote. He […]