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Minerality mysteries remain

Ongoing wine research by Dr Wendy Parr of Lincoln University indicates that while minerality is not a figment of tasters’ sensorial imagination, the source of the perception remains a mystery, and the description should be used with caution in formal wine tasting and judging situations. ‘Minerality’ is used by wine professionals to describe the character of certain wines, with vague references made to wet stones, crushed rock and soil. Regarded variously as a taste, a smell, a trigeminal (mouth-feel) sensation, or all three, until now there’s been little agreement on what is actually meant by this common but enigmatic term, or whether it even exists. Intrigued by the lack of scientific knowledge and the plethora of anecdotal evidence around minerality, Dr Parr collaborated with scientists in France and at Plant and Food Research in New Zealand to investigate what the concept means in Sauvignon Blanc wines, and whether there are cultural differences in perceptions of minerality. Wine professionals from France and New Zealand experienced in the production and tasting of Sauvignon Blanc participated in two sensory studies carried out over two sessions, with wine samples served blind in opaque, standardised glasses in unique order for each participant. Participants evaluated the wines by palate (taste and mouth-feel) alone, smell alone and both palate and smell together. Minerality was perceived by both groups in all cases, and was consistently associated with several wine characteristics, for example citrus. There were more similarities in perception between the groups than differences, implying that wine professionals in France and New Zealand share a mental construct of the concept ‘mineral’, as experienced in Sauvignon Blanc wines. “The concept of minerality in wine is undoubtedly real,” Dr Parr says, “but the source of the perception is still unclear.” It has been variously attributed to acidity, sulphide reduction, and […]

New Zealand Merino’s market-making model pays dividends

The New Zealand Merino Company (NZM) has significantly lifted full-year profit and the dividend it will pay to its shareholders in 2014/15. NZM booked a $2.3 million net profit for the year, a 21% increase on the previous year. Shareholders, including 536 wool growers, will receive a total dividend of $1.15 million, up 23% on 2013/14. NZM chief executive John Brakenridge said the strong performance showed the company’s approach of value creation, as opposed to volume play, was a winning one. “Two decades ago fine wool was being dumped on the commodity market and sold at a discount to Australia. The growers knew they had a product that was undervalued and unrecognised. “So NZM was set up to maximise profitability and sustainability right across value chains; from market to grower. Key to this has been confronting volatility head on and establishing multi-year forward contracts that guarantee more stable prices for brands and growers alike.” By removing the boom-and-bust of commodity price cycles, NZM had generated more than $30 million in additional income for growers, across wool and meat programmes, in the past three years compared to returns via traditional commodity systems, said Mr Brakenridge. “This past year we’ve continued to grow our business through establishing new contracts with luxury and active apparel brands such as Loro Piana and Reda in Italy, New Zealand brand Icebreaker and Colorado-based SmartWool. “We’ve also extended our offering into strong wool, where we see excellent potential across the board through innovation. There’s great complementary between strong wool and our fine wool business. “It’s no good sitting back and waiting for the market to come to you. We want to shape it and secure exclusive deals with the world’s leading brands.” In April, NZM secured a two-year contract with Danish footwear firm Glerups to exclusively supply […]

DWN seals the deal with valuable business advisory partner

New Zealand’s largest provider of practical accounting and business advisory services to the rural sector, Crowe Horwath, has offered its support to the Dairy Women’s Network (DWN), signing on as a partner. Dairy Women’s Network is a non-profit organisation dedicated to providing education and support to dairy farming women. It has more than 7500 members throughout New Zealand. “We are excited to enter into this partnership because we see first-hand the significant contribution women make to New Zealand’s rural sector,” said Crowe Horwarth’s New Zealand head of agribusiness Neil McAra. “It is organisations such as DWN that provide vital support and development opportunities for women in agribusiness to grow and prosper. Many Crowe Horwath employees are already actively involved within the Network and it was their glowing endorsement which helped encourage the business towards signing on with DWN.” DWN chief executive Zelda de Villiers said it was heartening in difficult times in the dairy industry to see a collegiality between agribusinesses and non-profit organisations such as DWN. “We know that we offer our members an extremely valuable service, but it’s always nice to have that quality of service recognised by our partners. I think our members, and ultimately the wider industry will gain a lot of knowledge in making sound and smart business decisions from us working with Crowe Horwath in the future.” Crowe Horwath New Zealand is the largest provider of practical accounting, audit, tax and business advice to individuals and businesses. The company has a network of 24 offices throughout the country.

Lincoln ticking all the boxes

There’s a lot pointing to Associate Professor Alison Bailey having made the right choice to come to New Zealand and become the new Professor of Farm Management in Lincoln University’s Faculty of Agribusiness and Commerce early next year. She’s an avid rugby fan, has a strong interest in the outdoors, and is keen for a new challenge. Currently Associate Professor in Farm Business Management at the University of Reading in the United Kingdom, she has authored over 70 publications in the field of agricultural management and environmental economics. She is also Director of Reading University’s Farm Management Unit, responsible for coordinating research, teaching and outreach within her subject area, been a speaker at Biennial International Farm Management Association Congresses, co-authored an influential climate change paper and has had 20 years in the agricultural sector. New Zealand is a country she has always aspired to come to and she has lots of contacts here already in the industry. Lincoln University Deputy Vice-Chancellor, Scholarship and Research, Stefanie Rixecker, says Associate Professor Bailey will lead in developing and promoting the profession of farm management in New Zealand and was happy to have secured her for the position. “She has a strong research background which is focused on areas relevant to Lincoln University, has a strong record in postgraduate supervision, and has a positive record working with the farming community.” Associate Professor Bailey says her research has been done primarily as a social scientist working within multi-disciplinary projects examining the relationship between agriculture, the environment and socio-economic criteria. She led a Royal Agricultural Society of England funded project ‘Water for Agriculture: Implications for Future Policy and Practice’ which reviewed and modelled the impacts of climate change on future food production in England. “Although a small project it has been successful in generating a large […]

Identifying insect species crucial to protect the environment

Students at Lincoln University are covering the length and breadth of New Zealand to discover new insect species and keep ahead of potential threats to agriculture and the environment. Bio-Protection Research Centre students, Francesco Martoni, Samuel Brown and Hamish Patrick have visited mountains, grasslands and forests to collect insect specimens. They have identified about 50 new species. “This research, to understand what [insects] are present in New Zealand, is vital for us to recognise any change. Especially if it involves the introduction of species that may become pests, or spread disease,” says Dr Karen Armstrong, a Senior Researcher at Lincoln University, and the students’ supervisor. “The only way to stay ahead of this, and to detect damaging interactions, is to know what is here. And for that, we need to produce experts in traditional taxonomy who are also trained to use modern technological approaches to describe and discover [insect species],” says Dr Armstrong. Martoni has collected psyllids from more than 200 locations, identifying more than 60 different species. Brown has described more than 40 species of native weevil. Patrick, besides having found and identified one new species of picture wing fly during a Lincoln Summer Scholarship, and four new species of New Zealand’s rare black mountain ringlet butterflies during his honours degree at Lincoln, is now researching how species that are very closely related to the highly invasive Queensland fruit fly can be distinguished. Expertise in taxonomy is vital for the future acknowledges Dr Armstrong. While most of the insects identified by the students are native to New Zealand, one weevil is a relatively recent introduction from Europe not previously known to occur here. By comparing this weevil with unidentified specimens held in local collections, Brown discovered that it first arrived in New Zealand in 1996. This research was published […]

Expert group supports Landcorp in putting environment first

Landcorp is bringing strong, independent environmental leadership to its management table by establishing an advisory group of environmental experts. The Environmental Reference Group (ERG) will guide Landcorp’s environmental focus, taking a leading role in implementing sustainable agricultural strategies that put environmental best practice first across all of Landcorp’s operations. The group comprises six of the country’s leading primary sector experts across a range of fields – Nelson-based environmental strategy expert Guy Salmon (chairman), sustainable farming adviser and veterinarian Dr Alison Dewes (Cambridge), water quality scientist Dr Mike Joy (Palmerston North), agricultural economist and Maori agribusiness consultant Dr Tanira Kingi (Rotorua), primary sector marketing expert Dave Maslen (Christchurch) and inventor and entrepreneur Angus Robson (Matamata). Landcorp chief executive Steven Carden says the ERG, which had its first meeting in July, is advising senior management on environmental activities with absolute independence. “The members of this group have outstanding credentials in environmental management. That expertise will be invaluable as we continue moving our business to a new model characterised by higher value products, sustainable earnings and environmental best practice. “By bringing independent environmental experts to the management table, we’re giving them the opportunity to challenge us. The ERG is helping us think about how we can drive environmental rejuvenation and future proof our farming activities while enhancing our profitability. ” Mr Carden said the group demonstrated a new model for the primary sector, with environmental leaders collaborating in business decisions. The ERG will directly advise the Landcorp board and Mr Carden, helping Landcorp think about how it can change its farm systems and adopt new technologies in some of the country’s more sensitive farming regions. One project the ERG is assisting with is a review of the Wairakei development on the Central Plateau. “With the right thinking, science and technology, we believe we […]

China still burns brightly for NZ agribusiness

“China is far from finished as a key driver of growth for the New Zealand agribusiness sector,” says Hayden Dillon, Head of Corporate Agribusiness for Crowe Horwath. Despite recent negative market commentary coming out of China, Dillon, who recently toured our largest trading partner with the BNZ’s Port to Plate tour, was optimistic for the future of New Zealand agribusiness, while acknowledging the challenges that go with doing business in China. “China is large, complex and changing faster than we can possibly understand. There is no simple headline or strategy to sum up this market, but there is also no doubt it is still the most valuable opportunity to New Zealand agribusiness,” said Dillon. In reference to reported drops in Chinese import numbers, Dillon points out it’s important to read between the lines and focus on the key numbers for New Zealand exporters. “While Chinese imports did drop year-on-year to August 2015 by 13.8%, food imports grew by up to 25%. This might be bad news for the likes of Prada, Audi and other luxury brands, but the story for New Zealand, who is exporting food and food technology, is very strong,” said Dillon. Dillon does not see this trend of rising food imports changing anytime soon. “It’s about feeding the dragon. China has a rapidly growing population with rising incomes and is far from reaching its satisfaction point in regards to food demand,” he said. The changing diets in China were explained to Dillon and his tour party of New Zealand agribusiness specialists by the Agricultural Development Bank of China. The Bank indicated growing demand for edible oil, meat and dairy will continue to increase, while rice consumption per capita will decrease. Dillon notes that China is also beginning to see demand increase for what it calls “green” products, […]

Liabilities of nutrient management in irrigation – getting it right

“There is growing pressure on the boards of irrigation schemes to understand the liabilities of nutrient management on an individual shareholder and catchment basis,” says IrrigationNZ Chairwoman, Nicky Hyslop. “Irrigation scheme boards have a responsibility to get this right in order to prevent consents being breached,” says Mrs Hyslop. “In response to this, IrrigationNZ, along with the Institute of Directors, will be offering a workshop on these issues in mid-October. “Directors need to understand the importance of assessing their scheme’s nutrient management risk, getting the strategy right, their role and responsibilities and the consequences if things aren’t well thought through and executed. “Managing water and nutrients responsibly is fundamental to all irrigation and it is now expected that irrigation schemes have governance expertise on nutrient management. “We hope that this workshop will help upskill and educate more scheme directors in what needs to be done,” said Mrs Hyslop. Course information The new ‘Risk Essentials and Strategy’ workshop will be launched with the help of the Institute of Directors. The one day course on 14th October will be jointly presented by Andrew Curtis, CEO of IrrigationNZ and Giselle McLachlan, a director and lawyer with significant background and experience in governance. She has served on a number of boards, including the Earthquake Commission, and sat on a number of audit and risk committees (one as Chair) with particular expertise in compliance, HR and project governance. This workshop will focus on irrigation schemes’ directors understanding their role, responsibilities and potential liabilities in this new era of nutrient allocation and management. It will include assessment of risk appetite, alongside the identification and evaluation of risks and a Health & Safety component. More information about this workshop can be found on IrrigationNZ’s website www.irrigationnz.co.nz/training. Or you can contact Chris Coughlan on ph (03) 341 2225.

Food businesses asked to ‘have their say’ in new food safety rules

The Ministry for Primary Industries (MPI) is calling for input from food businesses and providers into new food safety rules. A consultation on Notices under the new Food Act 2014 has been released today. Notices give further detail about how the new Act will work on a practical level, says MPI’s Manager Food and Beverage Sally Johnston. “The new Food Act 2014 comes into force in March next year and we consulted on the regulations earlier this year. This consultation is another chance for food businesses and providers to have their say in how the law works in practice.” The proposed Notices apply to a wide range of food businesses that need to operate under a food control plan or national programme. This includes those serving food, such as restaurants and cafés, as well as those manufacturing, selling or importing food. The new Act recognises that different food activities involve different risks. Higher risk activities, such as preparing meals, will operate under a written food control plan, which identifies food safety risks and sets out steps to mitigate those risks. Lower risk activities, such as selling pre-packaged food, will operate under a national programme. They won’t need a written plan, but will need to follow requirements for producing safe and suitable food. While the Act itself forms the basis of the new law, what businesses must do to comply with the new Act are set out in Regulations and Notices. This consultation asks for feedback on practical areas of implementation, including templates for creating food control plans, requirements for ensuring food is safe and suitable, requirements for importers, and skills needed to evaluate and verify high risk processes, such as low acid canned food. “We encourage all those who will operate under the Food Act 2014, including food providers and […]

A big win for Rural Contractors NZ

Agricultural contractors around New Zealand will soon be able to bring in overseas workers much easier than in the past – following a deal struck between its national body and Immigration NZ. Rural Contractors NZ (RCNZ) president Steve Levet says his organisation has been working with Immigration New Zealand for a long time in an effort to resolve the problems around contractors bringing in overseas workers for the harvest season. “After many meetings and a lot of hard work by RCNZ – together with Immigration NZ – we believe have come up with a solution that will solve many of the problems that rural contractors currently experience every year and make it much easier to bring in overseas workers,” Mr Levet says. “Members who are registered with RCNZ will now be able to apply to bring in overseas workers under our umbrella, rather than go through all the hoops and hurdles they currently have to as individuals.” Steve Levet describes the new scheme as great news for the sector and believes it will streamline and simplify the whole process of bringing in overseas workers – rather than the current rigmarole agricultural contractors currently have to endure. The new scheme will see RCNZ applying for an Approval in Principle (AIP) on behalf of all members of the national body and contractors. Contractors will then be able to apply online for a visa for the person being recruited – without having to advertise, go to WINZ or any the other requirements currently causing so much difficulty. “As RCNZ will hold the AIP, there are a number of responsibilities placed on us and it will be important that all those contractors who wish to use this scheme comply with all these conditions and requirements,” Mr Levet explains. “For starters, there will need to […]

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