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New Zealand’s specialist land-based university today announced the appointment of Dr Alan Renwick as Professor of Agricultural Economics to further strengthen Lincoln University’s teaching and research. Dr Renwick is currently domiciled in Dublin, Ireland, where he is Professor of Agricultural and Food Economics at University College Dublin (UCD). He will join the Lincoln University team later this year. “Dr Renwick has exactly the background we need to further strengthen Lincoln’s teaching and research in agricultural economics, and I am personally delighted with the appointment. Alan spent many years at the University of Cambridge in the Department of Land Economy, before heading the Scottish Agricultural College’s Land Economy and Environmental Research team,” says Deputy Vice-Chancellor, Scholarship and Research, Stefanie Rixecker. “We have managed to secure his skills from his current role in agricultural and food economics at UCD, where he is teaching into their BSc in Food and Agribusiness Management, and their Master’s in Food Business Strategy, as well as supervising research students and undertaking his own research in this field. His background will complement the team within Lincoln in an area that is key to this University, and to New Zealand as a whole.” The role of Professor of Agricultural Economics sits within Lincoln University’s Faculty of Agribusiness and Commerce. This year the Faculty has announced the appointment of Crawford Falconer of the OECD to the Sir Graeme Harrison Professorial Chair in Global Value Chains and Trade, and will see the appointment of another two professors over the coming months. “Lincoln University has been through a period of remarkable change in the last couple of years,” says Dean of the Faculty of Agribusiness and Commerce, Professor Hugh Bigsby, “and the appointment of Dr Renwick to this senior academic role signals another step-change in the development of our core areas of […]

The government announced today that $500,000 would be made available as a one-off funding boost to support farmers dealing with extreme weather and volatile pricing. Beef + Lamb New Zealand chairman, James Parsons welcomed the news. He said sheep and beef farmers were under pressure from prolonged drought conditions, particularly in the northern South Island. “Inevitably farmers are under immense pressure when they have thought ahead and made the best decisions around stock and pasture management on their farms. Some of our farmers have exhausted all their grazing options – they’ve sold down stock and most are below their capital stock numbers. “They’re in a really tough situation and are worried about the impacts ahead as spring approaches.” Parsons said it was good to see the government boosting support for mental health services in the regions – especially the focus on prevention and early intervention. He urged farmers to look out for each other too: “Keep talking to friends and neighbours and don’t be too proud to ask for some help.”

PGG Wrightson, the rural services firm controlled by China’s Agria Corp, lifted its annual earnings outlook as second half trading comes in ahead of expectations, but warned weak farmer confidence may weigh on future sales. The Christchurch based company expects annual operating earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation to be between $66 million and $69 million in the year ending June 30, above the February forecast for earnings between $62 million and $68 million. That in itself was an upgrade from previous guidance to beat last year’s earnings of $58.7 million. Wrightson is trading ahead of expectations, with strong seed sales across New Zealand and Australia, despite “challenging conditions” in the domestic market, it said in a statement. Still, dairy prices have dropped, hitting New Zealand’s largest export commodity and denting farmer confidence, while a dry summer had also been felt in some regions. “The improving PGW results we are seeing are a direct result of the hard work we’ve put into our business over recent years,” chief executive Mark Dewdney said. “Looking ahead, reduced farmer confidence in dairy and lamb is creating more uncertainty than usual regarding spending intentions for next season. This may result in farmers reducing expenditure which will potentially impact our financial performance.” The Reserve Bank yesterday cut interest rates as falling dairy prices dragged down the nation’s terms of trade more than expected, and has previously cited the sector as a key risk to the nation’s financial stability given the industry’s concentration of high indebtedness. In February, Wrightson reported a 47 percent gain in first half profit to $19.7 million in the six months ended Dec. 30, beating analysts’ expectations. Operating Ebitda climbed 51 percent to $33.6 million and revenue from continuing operation increased 3.1 percent to $654.7 million. Agria first invested in Wrightson […]

The Ministry for Primary Industries is predicting steady export growth over the next four years in its latest Situation and Outlook for Primary Industries, released today. MPI Director of Sector Policy, Jarred Mair, says the latest Situation and Outlook for Primary Industries highlights the resilience of New Zealand’s primary industries and their growth prospects, and provides a positive outlook through to 2019. “For the year ending June 2015, we expect primary industries total export revenue to be $35.2 billion, down 8 percent from 2013/14. This is despite substantial expected declines in export revenue for dairy (22 percent decrease) and forestry products (10 percent decrease). We then expect a return to growth with a 1.5 percent increase in export earnings for 2015/16, to $35.7 billion. “Longer-term the outlook is for steady growth across all sectors. Total export revenues by June 2019 are expected to be $41.3 billion – a 17 percent increase on this year. “This growth will be underpinned by income and population growth in China and Southeast Asia. Steady growth in other key markets will further bolster growth. For example – expectations of sustained recovery in the US housing market bodesw well for higher-value forestry exports.” “The last 12 months have been an example of the benefits of having a diversified production base and highly adaptable export companies. It was a tough year, with volatility in overseas markets for some of our key export commodities, and challenges to production from climatic events such as drought, storms and floods. “China remains our most important market for primary industry exports. Demand drove dairy prices high heading into 2014, and its construction boom helped lift forestry export earnings. However, excessive inventories and slowing construction have reversed these price gains for the 2015 year. Volatility in dairy markets has been further exacerbated by […]