Monday, 21 March 2016 14:36

Conference looks at winds of change

Written by 
Nathan Guy (pictured), Minister for Primary Industries will present the award on Wednesday, March 23 at about 9pm. Nathan Guy (pictured), Minister for Primary Industries will present the award on Wednesday, March 23 at about 9pm.

More than 130 of Australasia's leading agribusiness professionals are gathering in Wellington today for the annual Platinum Primary Producers (PPP) Conference.

Challenged with discussing the 'winds of change' currently sweeping across the farming landscapes of New Zealand and Australasia, delegates will hear from keynote speakers including Steven Carden, CEO of Landcorp Farming Ltd, Paul Morgan, chairman of Wakatu Incorporation, Prof. Jacqueline Rowarth from the University of Waikato, James Parsons, chairman of Beef + Lamb NZ, Doug Avery, Marlborough farmer, and Scottie Chapman, CEO of Spring Sheep Dairy Ltd.

The PPP Conference also marks the announcement of the 2016 recipient of the prestigious Zanda McDonald Award. In the running for the $30,000 prize package is: Wesley Lefroy, a 24 year old soil scientist from Western Australia, Dean Rabbidge, a 30 year old dairy, beef and sheep farmer from Wyndham, Southland and Erica van Reenen, a 31 year old environmental and agricultural consultant from Feilding.

Nathan Guy, Minister for Primary Industries will present the award on Wednesday, March 23 at about 9pm.

More like this

Fiancé finalists to square off

Steph Le Brocq and Sam Allen, a bride and groom-to-be, are among those set to face off in regional finals across New Zealand in the hopes of being named the Young Farmer of the Year.

Scaled-back show meets targets

Organisers of the Christchurch A&P show say they are happy with this year’s event despite a rushed turnaround that left agricultural industry support thin on the ground.

Honey industry group set to merge

A big shakeup in the honey sector is about to take place with the news that the industry good body, ApiNZ, and the export focused Unique Manuka Factor Honey Association are looking to merge to form a new industry body.

Red meat's China push

The red meat sector is launching a new campaign to lure Chinese consumers to New Zealand grass-fed beef and lamb.

Featured

Low interest sustainability lending from Halter, banks

Dairy and beef farmers could be eligible for lower interest lending options for financing Halter on their farms, with ANZ, ASB and BNZ now offering a pathway to sustainability loans for New Zealand’s largest virtual fencing provider.

National

Optimism in the air

Ag First chief executive James Allen says dairy farmer optimism is on the rise.

Ready to walk the talk

DairyNZ's Kirsty Verhoek ‘walks the talk’, balancing her interests in animal welfare, agricultural science and innovative dairy farming.

Dairy earnings bounce back

"We at Ministry for Primary Industries (MPI) and you at Dairy News said over six months ago that the dairy…

Machinery & Products

Powering farm operations

Waikato-based Silvester Electrical has been supporting New Zealand’s dairy industry for nearly 50 years.

DTS pioneering refrigerant swap

DTS, New Zealand's leading manufacturer of stainless steel vats and refrigeration technologies, is spearheading a groundbreaking initiative to phase out…

Discover the plastic edge

For over 20 years, Advantage Plastics has been manufacturing and supplying New Zealand-wide a large range of on-farm storage &…

Solution for every farm

For over 40 years, Williams Engineering has been trusted by farmers across New Zealand and beyond to deliver simple, reliable,…

» Latest Print Issues Online

Milking It

Bovaer's fate

OPINION: The fate of methane inhibitor Bovaer in NZ farming is still up in the air.

» Connect with Dairy News

» eNewsletter

Subscribe to our weekly newsletter