News

Synlait opens research and development centre in Palmerston North

In the picture:Palmerston North Mayor, Grant Smith, cutting the ribbon to open Synlait Palmerston North. Massey University Vice Chancellor, Prof Jan Thomas, stands to his right and Roger Schwarzenbach, Synlait’s GM of Technical and Innovation, is opposite. Synlait Palmerston North has been officially opened by Massey University’s Vice Chancellor and the Mayor of Palmerston North. “We’re very excited to be opening Synlait Palmerston North today, which is home to our new Research and Development Centre,” says John Penno, Managing Director and CEO. “We have some major opportunities in front of us. With the strong team and partnerships we’ve got in place to lead liquid innovation within our business, we won’t miss a beat,” he says. The Vice Chancellor of Massey University, Professor Jan Thomas, opened the facility and highlighted the important new relationship between Synlait and the university. “The establishment of Synlait’s new Research and Development Centre at Massey’s Manawatū campus is an excellent example of industry and the university collaborating closely to achieve real, tangible outcomes,” says Professor Thomas. “Strategic partnerships like these are vital if we are to start and grow new industries, create new jobs, and to remain competitive in the global marketplace. Massey University is New Zealand’s premier provider of food research and education, and at the forefront of pioneering such partnerships with the food industry.” she says. The Mayor for Palmerston North and Accelerate 25 Lead Team member, Grant Smith, thanked Synlait for choosing Food HQ and Palmerston North City for their investment. “It’s fantastic to now see commercial companies such as Synlait organically using the value of Food HQ and Massey University. Assisting companies with R+D and commercialising their products is one of Food HQ’s key roles,” says Mr Smith. “The City of Palmerston North is part of Accelerate 25, a regional economic development […]

Farm machinery sales back to 2014 levels

Sales of tractors in 2017 increased markedly, just topping the previous highest recorded levels of 2014, says NZ Tractor and Machinery Association (TAMA) General Manager, Ron Gall. Mr Gall said the association recognised that some farmers in both islands were currently experiencing hardship with the very hot and dry conditions. The challenging drought conditions may affect sales in the coming months but it was hoped changing weather would provide some relief. Mr Gall said in 2017, a total of 4079 tractors were sold. This is up 13% on 2016, up 14% on 2015 and even slightly up on the boom dairy year of 2014, which had 4062 sales. Sales were particularly strong in the dairy areas of Waikato, Taranaki, Manawatu, Canterbury and Southland and in the horticulture, viticulture and arable areas of Northland, Hawkes Bay, Nelson and Marlborough. Otago, home to dairy and horticulture and viticulture, experienced particularly impressive growth, with a 28% increase on 2016. The biggest increase on last year’s sales was Taranaki with 214 sales in 2017 compared to 158 in 2016, representing a 35% boost. Combined, the areas of North, Mid and South Canterbury had a 22% increase on 2016. Mr Gall said the increased sales reflected the improved dairy forecast payout along with steady growth in horticulture and viticulture. According to TAMA’s biennual industry value and employment survey, the total number of people employed in the tractor and farm machinery sales and servicing sector had also increased. There has been a 14% increase since 2015 – from 2492 to 2846 roles. Nearly 40% of those employed earned salaries of more than $75,000. Of respondents to the survey, 57% said they had difficulties hiring staff and 19% had hired migrants. “The machinery/technology sector offers innovative and well-paid jobs with a strong career pathway, including senior roles in […]

Emerging aliens threaten New Zealand’s environment

New Zealand’s environment and primary industries are under threat from pests we don’t even know about yet. That’s the message from Professor Philip Hulme of the Bio-Protection Research Centre, based at Lincoln University. Professor Hulme was part of a large international collaboration of scientists that analysed 46,000 recorded sightings of invasive animal and plant species around the world. Their research* showed that one in every four new pest incursions were from species that had never before been recorded as being invasive. “We looked at patterns over the last five centuries to see whether there was any evidence of a slowdown in the number of new pests and weeds emerging around the world, but there wasn’t,” said Prof Hulme. “Just as many new pests are emerging now as in previous centuries. “If we look at the pests and weeds already in New Zealand, most have come from Europe, Australia or North America, our traditional trade partners and sources of immigration. However, Asia is now becoming more important to both trade and immigration, and this is where many new pests and weeds appear to be coming from.” Prof Hulme says we may be entering a new era for biosecurity as we face an increasing wave of unknown emerging pest species. “We need to make sure our biosecurity system is sufficiently flexible and well-resourced to deal with unexpected incursions by species we probably will know nothing about,” says Professor Hulme. “The responsibility rests with all of us: government, industry, the public, and every tourist who crosses our borders,” says Prof Hulme. “We all need to be vigilant, understand the risks and all act in a way that minimises the chances of any new pest or disease making its way to our shores.” *Seebens, H., Blackburn TM, Dyer EE, Genovesi P, Hulme PE et […]

Environment and agriculture can both benefit from trade agreement

The Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTTP) trade agreement has the potential to transform the agricultural sector and at the same time benefit the environment, agribusiness expert Dr Nic Lees of Lincoln University says. However, he added, the public needed to be convinced of that. The CPTTP is the re-negotiated Trans Pacific Partnership after the USA withdrew, and is a free trade agreement between Australia, Brunei, Canada, Chile, Japan, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, Peru, Singapore and Vietnam. Negotiations have concluded between the countries but it is yet to be ratified by New Zealand. The TTP had met some public and political opposition. The CPTTP could change the sector from relying on low cost commodities to a focus on high value exports intimately connected to a pristine environment, Dr Lees said. “Where New Zealand producers are exporting high value branded products we see an associated increase in concern for the environment. These producers know that they need to meet consumers demand for products to be produced ethically and sustainably.” He said tariffs on New Zealand beef exports to Japan will drop from 38.5% to 9%, saving the industry $25 million. “This reduction in tariffs will give New Zealand and Australia a competitive advantage over the USA beef in the high value Japanese market. “It will encourage New Zealand beef farmers to target high value beef cuts in the Japanese market rather than export commodity hamburger beef to the USA,” Dr Lees added. Tariffs on kiwifruit exports to Japan, the largest importer of New Zealand kiwifruit, will be eliminated. Tariffs on wine exports to New Zealand’s fourth largest market Canada will also be removed. Overall the CPTPP could provide approximately $222m of tariff savings each year. However, he said, the public need to be convinced of these benefits. “There is […]

Lincoln part of Australian horticultural innovation

Lincoln University is extending its expertise offshore as part of a unique Australian programme cultivating its next horticultural industry leaders. Its Faculty of Agribusiness and Commerce is involved in teaching the Masterclass in Horticultural Business course at the University of Tasmania. Lincoln’s role is led by Professor Alison Bailey and includes collaborating with the world’s top agricultural university, despite mostly staying put in New Zealand. Professor Bailey made the trip to Australia to be part of the course’s first year in 2017 and envisages more Lincoln staff making the journey this year. “It’s an exciting development to be part of,” she said. The course is the first of its kind in Australia for the horticulture industry and is specifically designed for upcoming leaders in the industry. It is being developed in Tasmania in partnership with international leaders in horticulture – Horticulture Innovation Australia, Wageningen Academy (part of Wageningen University, ranked number one globally in Agriculture) and Lincoln University. Professor Alison Bailey said Modules which Lincoln experts contribute to include horticultural management, financial management, horticultural marketing, global trends and international business, innovation and entrepreneurship, and business development and strategy. The course is offered through flexible online delivery, with three face to face intensives, or workshops, and students are tasked with developing a strategic plan for their own company. Students go online to listen to pre-recorded mini lectures of between 8-15 minutes duration. The lectures are supported by guided reading material, online mini-quizzes, and assignments to be completed by the student usually offline and then sent in electronically The course reflects Lincoln University’s focus on collaborating with other institutions.

Riot Foods success defies doubters

In 2013 when Ryan Kamins took a brown paper bag with his home-made Paleo cereal to the local health food shop to see if it would sell, he had little idea that it was the beginning of a business that is forecast to sell over $2 million in product this year. Along with Art Green, Ryan Kamins has successfully established Riot Foods, a new generation food business, now in its 5th year. They have an unshakeable commitment to producing wholefoods that are free from harmful ingredients and making wholefoods accessible to mainstream consumers. Under the Riot Foods umbrella sits CleanPaleo, Poppy + Olive and WholeFoods Manufacturing. The flagship brand, CleanPaleo, has a range of 20 products, including breakfast blends, protein powders, biltong and bread, with more products set to launch in 2018 (most of which have been requested by their major retail partners). It’s a premium brand, characterised by products that are free from gluten, grains, dairy, preservatives and additives and is the leading Paleo brand in New Zealand. CleanPaleo is stocked Nationwide in Countdown as well as over 50 other independent stores. It is also selling to Australia, with 10 new stores coming on board every month, and Amazon U.S.A., who recently awarded CleanPaleo Manuka crunch breakfast blend their Amazon Choice award. Earlier this year Riot Foods purchased Poppy and Olive, a niche range of nut butters- which features Smooth Almond, Crunchy Almond, Cashew Almond and Chocolate Hazelnut. All the products are made using only wholefood ingredients and are high in protein and free from processed sugar and are of course gluten free, vegan and paleo approved! At purchase, the business was selling less than $2,500 per month of product. 9 months later, and after a re-brand, Poppy + Olive is now selling more than 6x that, with negotiations […]

Focus on New Zealand brands needed in face of trade uncertainty

Uncertainty over Brexit means New Zealand needs to urgently focus on developing brands and differentiating our agricultural exports. However, the recently announced TPP agreement – which is to be signed on 1 March – offers potential for enhancing our markets. Senior lecturer in Agribusiness Management, Dr Nic Lees, said New Zealand produces some of the best fruit, wine, meat, seafood and dairy products in the world but around 70 per cent reaches the consumer with no identification that is sourced from here. “Sudden changes such as Brexit remind us that relying on undifferentiated commodity exports leaves us vulnerable to sudden changes in government policies,” Dr Lees said. “When consumers demand a branded product, it is difficult for governments to shut it out of the market.” Forty-four years ago, Britain joined the European Common Market. At the time Britain took approximately 90 per cent of our butter, 75 per cent of our cheese and about 80 per cent of our lamb exports. Britain had to adopt the European “common agricultural policy” which imposed tariffs and quotas on non-European agricultural imports This meant New Zealand was effectively shut out of our largest agricultural export market. At the time, most of these products were being exported as commodities, frozen lamb carcasses and blocks of cheese. The only branded product was Anchor butter. For the next thirty years the New Zealand economy suffered as we searched for new markets and attempted to develop alternative industries. China has replaced Britain as our largest market. However, 70-80 per cent of our food exports are still sold as commodity products. “We need to develop differentiated and branded products that consumers demand,” he said. “We can learn a lesson from Anchor butter, as it is a brand that is still strong in the British market.” However, he said, […]

Workforce robots on the horizon

Primary sector and manufacturing employees may find themselves with some interesting new colleagues in the next few years as researchers develop robots that can be trained to work alongside people in factories and the great outdoors. A two-year, $2m project funded by the Science for Technological Innovation National Science Challenge Board is examining how next-generation robots can work with humans in a safe and flexible manner. Researchers will focus on developing robots to work in small-scale manufacturing and unforgiving outdoor environments. Such technology could become a global specialty of New Zealand robotics businesses, with great export opportunities and long-term solutions for the country’s economic needs. The interdisciplinary research programme involves robotics experts from Lincoln Agritech and Scion, as well as researchers and PhD students from the universities of Auckland, Canterbury, Massey, Otago, Victoria and Waikato. The programme is laying the groundwork for follow-up projects over the next few years that will focus on making New Zealand a competitive country for the production and use of robots in small-scale, flexible manufacturing businesses and challenging environments such as those found in agriculture and forestry. “We will advance the science required for a new generation of industrial robotic solutions,” says Lincoln Agritech Group Manager in Precision Agriculture, Dr Armin Werner. “These robots can provide enormous benefits to the primary and manufacturing sectors. Both industries require fast adaptation to different products and markets, and constant responsiveness to changing outdoor environments. “The robots can assist with complex tasks such as pruning tree or vine crops, safely felling trees on steep slopes or assembling small batches of appliances on demand.” To develop the technology, researchers will investigate how sensors and artificial intelligence can allow robots to perceive and understand their surroundings, flexibly handle new situations through learning or training by humans or other robots, and work […]

T & G Global re-commits to growing horticulture sector

T&G Global has announced it has signed an extended five-year sponsorship agreement with the Royal NZ Institute of Horticulture Education Trust which runs the Young Horticulturalist of the Year competition. RNZIH Members from left to right: Leigh Cornes, Elle Anderson – Chair, Elenka Nikolof, Ben Buchanan, Andrew Keaney, Cathrine Ming, Tara McLeod, Susan Tremain, Inrid Ennis and Nicola Rochester. T&G has supported the annual competition since it started in 2005, renewing annually, as a top-tier partnering sponsor but the growing need for more talent in the industry has led T&G to double its financial support through to 2022. Andrew Keaney, T&G’s executive general manager, New Zealand produce, says T&G considers competitions like the Young Horticulturalist of the Year to be incredibly important. “They’re vital for developing and recognising the next generations’ skills and knowledge to ensure that as an industry, we are collectively supporting our future leaders.” T&G’s strengthened commitment will enable a significant step-up in gear for the competition says Young Horticulturalist of the Year organiser Susan Tremain. “Securing a five-year strategic partnership from a company of T&G’s stature is a massive vote of confidence for the growing relevance of the competition, which not only sets the bar for the industry, but horticulture’s rise as potentially the economic powerhouse of New Zealand’s future. “It also sends a strong signal that the major players in our economy are committed to taking horticulture to a bigger and better future for our sector, and for the young talented Kiwis who are building that future in horticulture,” adds Susan. “The world needs food and the planet needs it to be produced sustainably – there’s a reason we are calling horticulture ‘the new black’”. Andrew Keaney continues saying the competition also supports the growing horticulture industry which is now worth $8 billion. “As an […]

Major waste-to-energy project honored for innovation

A major waste-to-energy project incorporating GWE RAPTOR anaerobic digestion technology available throughout Australasia has been honored as a Finalist in this year’s American Biogas Council Industry Awards. The Quantum Biopower organic-waste-to-energy project in Connecticut USA began producing biogas this year that will be used to generate electricity, demonstrating financial and environmental benefits achievable locally and globally by converting up to 40,000 tons of organic waste annually into environmentally harmonious green energy and dry bio fertiliser. The RAPTOR technology is one of a suite of GWE clean water/green energy technologies represented in Australasia by CST Wastewater Solutions, which already has successful GWE technology installations operating locally in the food, beverage and agribusiness industries. including meat processing and other industries with a biological waste stream. CST Wastewater Solutions Mr Michael Bambridge says the latest award for GWE anaerobic technologies shows their effectiveness and versatility for not only many more industrial uses, but also for municipal applications. The Quantum Biopower plant, serving the central Connecticut region, incorporates its GWE RAPTOR rapid anaerobic digestion system at the heart of its process that harvests mixed organic wastes for conversion into enough biogas (primarily methane) to generate 1.2 MW of electricity and up to 5.6 tons a day of dry bio fertiliser. The Finalist award to the Quantum Biopower project in October follows other major waste-to-energy awards for technologies represented by CST Wastewater Solutions, including one earlier this year for a project incorporating GWE technologies into the world’s largest integrated pineapple operation, Del Monte Philippines Inc. (DMPI), which won the Best Water and Wastewater Solutions Provider honor at the Asian Manufacturing Awards. RAPTOR technology has also won a global environmental engineering from the Institute of Chemical Engineers (IChemE), which represents more than 40,000 chemical engineers worldwide. This latest honor for Quantum Biopower is a major achievement, […]

«‹ 45 46 47 48 ›

News Ticker

News