increase font size
Trish Rankin believes that part of looking after the land means striving towards a circular economy.
Dairy Woman of the Year for 2019, Trish Rankin, says sustainable practices and picking the best team have helped her become a better farmer.
"Every year I've got more and more involved not just in our own farming business but all these other passions too - the environment, DairyNZ and helping develop waste reduction projects, working with AgRecovery," says Ranking.
"As I've found more gaps where I can help solve a problem, I've been happily developing them all."
Rankin believes that part of looking after the land means striving towards a circular economy.
As part of this, she's developed a framework she calls the Porahita 20 (porahita meaning circular in te reo Māori) - involving 10 things farmers need to enact if a circular economy is to be viable. One of those Rankin refers to is 'regenerate', which includes questioning what businesses farmers can support that act as environmental stewards for New Zealand.
"For example, with 100% renewable energy generation, that's a reason why we use Meridian," she says.
"What does it look like to be a better farmer? It looks like making a decision to support a company generating 100% renewable energy, with the flow-on effect that it's good for other people and the planet as well."
And being a better farmer also includes having the best possible team around you.
"It's pretty simple really, if you don't give me good service then we don't use you," she says. "I want you to buy in to helping me be a good farmer."
"I think that's genuinely what Meridian does, rather than just sending me a bill," says Trish.
"They've got a really good relationship with farmers through the Dairy Awards, and they're always at the end of the phone when we need them.
"It's the familiarity with someone who knows your business, your goals, and sits down and talks through what you want. It makes a difference."
Meridian is already powering over 11,000 farms, and farmers like Rankin. But they are always keen to be on more farmers' teams and help them work toward more sustainable practices.
The company is offering a $400 'moving credit' for anyone switching to them around moving day.
A state-of-the-art wastewater treatment system, inhouse upcycling of perlite and lees waste, and the spreading of grape marc and biosolids to vineyards, are just handful of the innovations rolled out at Rose Family Estate in recent years.
Having solar farms in the midst of Marlborough’s wine industry could be an in-situ solution to decarbonisation.
An ancient kōwhai atop a craggy hill face has inspired a decade-long planting programme at Northburn Vineyard in Central Otago.
Astrolabe walks the talk when it comes to authentic and sustainable wines, including Tōitu Carbon Zero certification, organic regenerative practices on its grower blocks, BioGro certification at the family's home vineyard, and a river restoration project with neighbouring winegrowers.
New Zealand's only glass manufacturer hit a target of 70% recycled glass in May last year.
Fieldays 2025 opens this week with organisers saying the theme, 'Your Place', highlights the impact the event has on agriculture both in the Southern Hemisphere and across the globe.
Sam Carter, assistant manager for T&G's Pakowhai Sector, has been named the Hawke's Bay 2025 Young Grower of the Year.
The CEO of Apples and Pears NZ, Karen Morrish, says the strategic focus of her organisation is to improve grower returns.
A significant breakthrough in understanding facial eczema (FE) in livestock brings New Zealand closer to reducing the disease’s devastating impact on farmers, animals, and rural communities.
Farmer co-operative LIC has closed its satellite-backed pasture measurement platform – Space.
OPINION: The case of four Canterbury high country stations facing costly and complex consent hearing processes highlights the dilemma facing the farming sector as the country transitions into a replacement for the Resource Management Act (RMA).
OPINION: The Free Speech Union is taking this one too far.
OPINION: New national data from The Drug Detection Agency (TDDA), a leading workplace drug tester, shows methamphetamine (meth) use is…
