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Essential changes made to freshwater regulations, but issues remain

Sector feedback has resulted in significant change to the Government’s Essential Freshwater package but there is still a sting in the tail, says DairyNZ chief executive Dr Tim Mackle. “Over the last eight months DairyNZ has advocated for an evidence-based and pragmatic approach to freshwater regulation. We are pleased to see Government has listened and made significant changes to some of the more controversial elements of their original proposal,” said Dr Mackle. “Like all New Zealanders, dairy farmers share ambitions for healthy waterways and have invested a lot of time and money for over a decade in improved management systems, upgrading effluent systems, riparian planting and fencing streams to exclude cattle. “Looking at where the policy has landed, it appears that the Government have taken a better approach in terms of scientific rigour and practicality for farmers on the ground.” Dr Mackle said although farmers will have a generation to implement the changes needed, the regulatory settings they see today will influence their confidence to invest for the future. “The Government have parked the dissolved inorganic nitrogen (DIN) measure and removed the impractical and expensive requirement for farmers to move existing fences to meet new stock exclusion guidelines. These two issues were of great concern for farmers so this will provide reassurance.” Dr Mackle said it is pleasing the Government listened to DairyNZ’s guidance on using the nitrate toxicity measure, which will achieve the environmental outcomes with less economic and social disruption. “While we agree that nitrate toxicity is the right measure, we disagree with the standard which has been set. DairyNZ advocated for 3.8 as a significant progression on the old NPS and double the existing standard.” Dr Mackle says the proposed 95% protection standard will severely affect […]

Versatile Wefapress St 1000 equips food and beverage processors for local and export FSP compliance

One of the most versatile Food Secure Products from the Wefapress global FSP engineering plastics range is being introduced to Australasia by national distributor Cut To Size Plastics. Wefapress St 1000 – certified to EU Regulation 10/2011, which is among the strictest standards in the world – is used in applications including drive elements, seals, guide rails and pumps in food and beverage, pharmaceutical, chemical, agricultural and paper, ports and mechanical, process and chemical engineering. “The low-friction sliding qualities of this versatile and wear-resistant ultra-high molecular weight polyethylene (UHMWPE) make it widely suitable for clean, reliable service in sensitive, hygiene-related production tasks,” says Cut To Size Managing Director Mr Laurie Green. St 1000’s performance qualities – including high impact performance and zero moisture absorption – are enhanced by a molecular weight of approximately 4.4 – 9.2 million g/mol and a co-efficient of friction of µ0,2. Using specially selected additives it is possible to enhance the material to cater to specific individual performance demands. Wefapress St 1000 is part of the broader Wefapress FSP range has been certified. EU Regulation 10/2011 covers areas such as starting substances, production aids, migration tests, declaration of conformity, traceability and good manufacturing practice. “Compliance with such regulations is very important not only in the Australasian markets, but also in the strong export markets that producers and processers in both Australia and New Zealand enjoy,” says Mr Green, whose company has been distributing Wefapress products for decades. “Wefapress is recognised as a standard-setter in the global FSP engineering plastics markets, which is a built-in advantage for food and beverage producers and machinery manufacturers alike when embarking on new product and export initiatives.” “Companies need to ensure at the outset that they are designing compliance into their production and process lines, to avoid rejects and costly delays in […]

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Entries Welcome for 2020 Significant Contribution to Food Safety Award

Nominations are open for the 2020 Significant Contribution to Food Safety Award, sponsored by New Zealand Food Safety. As part of the New Zealand Institute of Food Science and Technology (NZIFST) Awards, the Significant Contribution to Food Safety Award recognises the improvement or development of a process or operation, whether from an individual, team or organisation. Nominees can impact one sector, or across a few sectors. New Zealand Food Safety welcomes nominees who have: made improvements in areas such as science and research, equipment or processing technology, or product and packaging development; or built and maintained an effective food safety culture through staff engagement, education, and/or training. “We are proud that New Zealand is home to many forward-thinking, solutions-oriented food safety champions and we want to tell their stories through the Significant Contribution to Food Safety Award,” New Zealand Food Safety’s Deputy Director-General Bryan Wilson said. “It’s important to continually recognise the people and organisations that maintain and grow New Zealand’s strong international reputation as a provider of safe and suitable food – the success of our food safety system depends on the dedication and expertise of people throughout New Zealand’s food industry,” Mr Wilson said. “This strength of the food system has been demonstrated throughout the COVID-19 response, where the New Zealand food industry went above and beyond to produce, package and transport safe and suitable food to millions of people.” To nominate individuals, teams, and/or organisations, visit www.mpi.govt.nz/significant-contribution-to-food-safety-award/ Self-nominations are also accepted. Nominations close at 5pm on 30 June 2020. The NZIFST Awards will be announced on 18 August 2020. The Significant Contribution to Food Safety Award winner will receive a trophy, and a 12-month NZIFST membership. Previous winners of the Award are Rosie Waller (2019), Professor Nigel French (2018) and Dr Lesley Rhodes (2017). If you have […]

Mycoplasma bovis eradication reaches two year milestone in good shape

New Zealand’s world-first plan to eradicate the cattle disease Mycoplasma bovis is on track the latest technical data shows, says Agriculture and Biosecurity Minister Damien O’Connor. “Two years ago the Government, DairyNZ and Beef + Lamb New Zealand and industry partners made a bold decision to go hard and commit to a 10-year, $880 million programme to eradicate M. bovis to protect our most important sector and the economy. “Recent events have shown what an important moment this decision was for our economy. “Had we thrown up our hands and said ‘it’s too hard’ and left this disease to run rampant, I’m not sure our dairy and beef sectors would have been able to weather the economic storm of Covid-19 and the challenges of drought conditions as well as they have. “Beef and dairy export prices have held up. In fact, there was record demand for our meat. In March total red meat monthly exports topped $1 billion for the first time. This shows that these sectors are well-placed to lead us out of this economic crisis. “As we have with our response to COVID-19, this Government showed leadership, made a tough decision and have managed this eradication effort with discipline and focus, because we knew we were doing it for the economic and social good of the country. “We’ve also shown, again, that we’re able to do what others countries have not in terms of disease eradication efforts. That’s something our farming community should be really proud of. I’m certainly very proud of them. “One key measure of success, the Estimated Dissemination Rate (EDR), shows strongly that we have M. bovis firmly in our sights. If the EDR is greater than one, then the disease is growing. If it’s below one, we’re shrinking the disease. “The EDR is now […]

Global food industry deals total $605.1m in April

Total food industry deals for April 2020 worth $605.1m were announced globally, according to GlobalData’s deals database. The value marked a decrease of 24.1% over the previous month and a drop of 76.4% when compared with the last 12-month average of $2.57bn. In terms of number of deals, the sector saw a drop of 31.3% over the last 12-month average with 46 deals against the average of 67 deals. In value terms, Asia-Pacific led the activity with deals worth $526.26m. Food industry deals in April 2020: Top deals The top five food deals accounted for 87.8% of the overall value during April 2020. The combined value of the top five food deals stood at $531.25m, against the overall value of $605.1m recorded for the month. The top five food industry deals of April 2020 tracked by GlobalData were: Meiji’s $254.4m acquisition of AustAsia Investment Holdings The $225.62m acquisition of Jiangxi Zhengbang Technology by Shenzhen Xingxing Technology Capital Today and CICC Capital ManagementLimited’s $28.23m venture financing of A1Food The $15m venture financing of Innovopro by CPT Capital, Custos Privatstiftung, Jerusalem Venture Partners and Wolfgang Leitner DSG Consumer Partners, Genesis Ventures, Insignia Ventures Partners, Koh Boon Hwee, Temasek International and Where two Get It’s venture financing of Growthwell Group for $8m.

The five ‘silver linings’ to Covid-19

-Dr Troy Coyle, HERA Director Our current state of play has created a massive disruption to business as usual – but are there any positives to come out from the Covid-19 pandemic? Covid-19 has dramatically impacted us all in many different ways. Of course, most discussions have been on the negatives of Covid-19, but here are five silver linings that we think may help build our resilience in the longer term. After all, it is those that take a negative and turn it into a positive that come out of situations for the better! So lets ensure that it is our NZ metals industry that is taking advantage! The significance of domestic manufacturing has come to the fore from Covid-19. We have had significant disruption to global supply chains. The expected market response is likely to be a shortening of supply chains and a strategy of securing supply chains. This undoubtedly favours local manufacturing. For a long time, manufacturing has not received the attention and support that it should have had – in terms of national security of supply chains and Government support. The PM’s specific mention of manufacturing in her announcement on 20 April indicates the sudden attention to manufacturing as a core requirement of Kiwi’s economic and human wellbeing. There is also likely to be a market change toward greater support for local manufacturing in consumer decision-making. Changes in consumer purchasing are also likely to support increased on-line purchasing. Both of these are, in turn, likely to lead to increased warehousing requirements and this will stimulate warehouse developments, with structural steel playing a role in via, for example, portal frame designs. There will necessarily be an increased focus on the upskilling of our workforce. Businesses were already struggling to attract and retain quality staff and many had gone offshore […]

Jobs aplenty, good pay on dairy farms for COVID unemployed

DairyNZ wants people who have lost jobs due to COVID-19 know there is plenty of work on dairy farms, especially in Waikato, Canterbury, Otago and Southland – and that they might well earn more than in their previous role. With the national unemployment rate forecast to rise sharply due to COVID-19, DairyNZ is encouraging people to consider work on dairy farms in a new Go Dairy campaign that also includes entry level training to help their transition to farming. Immediately, there are 1,000 jobs up for grabs on dairy farms, says DairyNZ’s chief executive Dr Tim Mackle. “As the new season gets under way on June 1, even more positions are likely to become available,” says Dr Mackle. “For people who’re looking for work and like the idea of caring for animals and the environment, there are lots of jobs – and career progression opportunities.” People interested in knowing more about working on dairy farms, where the jobs are and the introductory training can visit godairy.co.nz/career-changers where they can register their interest. While the Go Dairy career changers campaign, which is supported by Federated Farmers, aims to create awareness of the job opportunities, there is a big emphasis on ensuring new staff understand what is involved in farm life. “We want a win-win situation – for new dairy farming employees to be happy and fulfilled in their new lifestyle and jobs, and for farm employers to have great talent working for them,” Dr Mackle says. He adds that dairy also pays one of the highest average wages of all the primary sectors. “For the most part, we’re anticipating interested people will be from the regions where there are big job losses in tourism and hospitality – and where there is dairying close […]

Trade Me comes to Fieldays

New Zealand’s number one digital marketplace, Trade Me, has partnered with Fieldays to deliver their first ever online event. The online powerhouse is set to streamline Fieldays’ digital transactions and customer service experience. “It makes sense at a time of global uncertainty that two trustworthy brands come together. Trade Me, like Fieldays, is all about connecting people and businesses. It’s a winning combination, to have them on board ensures we have our digital platforms and transactions running perfectly,” says New Zealand National Fieldays Society CEO Peter Nation. Now a household name, over 1.5 million Kiwis visit Trade Me daily and the platform offers greater opportunities to reach a wider audience. “We’re thrilled to be partnering with the New Zealand National Fieldays Society to power online sales and help with marketing the 2020 Virtual Fieldays to Kiwis. The agricultural sector makes up a massive part of our Trade Me community and we’d like to help make this ‘first of its kind’ event a success,” says Ivan Fuyala, Head of Audience at Trade Me. For over 50 years Kiwis and those around the globe have trusted The New Zealand National Fieldays Society to deliver an iconic event that brings town and country together. “This is a first for Fieldays, we know the physical event and all it entails is incomparable, but we’re determined to deliver a world class event despite the current circumstances we face as a nation and globally,” says Nation. Fieldays is attended by approximately 130,000 people every year. From the beloved Tractor Pull competition to the Innovations Centre, Fieldays is a space for old friends to catch up, entrepreneurs to launch their innovations and businesses to connect and generate sales with their customers. The Southern Hemisphere’s largest agri-event generates approximately $180M for the local economy, while on a national level it provides […]

DairyNZ calls for ‘split gas’ Paris target

DairyNZ is urging the Government’s Independent Climate Change Commission to bring our international emissions reduction targets in line with our domestic targets legislated in the Zero Carbon Act by taking a ‘split gas’ approach, chief executive Dr Tim Mackle says. “Last year New Zealand took a world leading approach by legislating a split gas target in the Zero Carbon Act,” Dr Mackle says. “This recognised that methane is a short-lived gas and requires a different approach to the long-lived carbon dioxide. “While we need to take carbon to net zero, we can achieve a situation where we are no longer adding to global warming by reducing and stabilising our methane emissions.” New Zealand’s international target is currently expressed as a reduction of all greenhouse gases by 30 percent on 2005 levels. “This is a misalignment with our domestic policy and what the science has said on methane. Having an international target that splits the gases will send a much clearer signal to the international community on why New Zealand’s approach is in line with a 1.5 degrees target,” said Dr Mackle. “It will also allow us to put something on the table that is domestically achievable, and it will support policy alignment with what was legislated last year through the Zero Carbon Bill. “We are urging the Climate Change Commission to consider if New Zealand’s international target should be recommunicated as a split gas target, the same as how we are approaching this issue domestically. “While the Commission is reviewing our Paris Commitments, they should also be reviewing our domestic targets – particularly the methane reduction target which is set as a broad range – to ensure they are fair and appropriate in a New Zealand context,” Dr Mackle concluded.

Fieldays 2020 pioneering a digital future

The future of Fieldays is secure despite the ongoing developments of the COVID-19 virus. Event organisers, the New Zealand National Fieldays Society, are pioneering an entirely new experience of Fieldays that will ensure its longevity in an age of social isolation and measures to reduce the spread of coronavirus. Visitors will get a taste of the event via a virtual experience on digital platforms until the physical event is able to take place. Following the governmental announcement on Monday 16th of March, to cancel all large gatherings of over 500 people, the Society knew this was an opportunity to adapt the Fieldays event in an innovative way. The virtual experience promises to offer an entirely new spin on the event whilst retaining all it’s treasured parts. From Fieldays Future Focus talks to the beloved Fieldays Innovation programme, the technology will allow for an immersive experience from the comfort of one’s own home. “We understand the economic ramifications would be extensive if Fieldays was cancelled entirely hence why we’ve decided it’s a chance to be innovative in this time of global uncertainty. We’ll still be delivering a world class event on the world stage – albeit a digital version,” Society CEO Peter Nation says. “The event is treasured, not just to the agricultural industry but as Kiwis altogether. Many people save the date a year in advance. We know of people that have never missed a Fieldays! “The NZ agricultural industry is one of the most innovative and dynamic of its kind in the world. Crises are not new to the primary sector. We had M.Bovis a few years back, droughts, the GFC. These are all things farmers and communities have had to endure and ride through. Uncertainty has paved the way for innovation in times where there was no other […]

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