Dairy farmer profits to hit record levels in 2025
The profitability of dairy farmers is likely to increase in the coming year, accordign to the latest report by the Ministry for Primary Industries (MPI) on the outlook for the primary sector.
Dairy Women's Network kicked off its online training programme today (October 31) with a webinar on Retaining the Right People.
The professional dairy industry women's group will deliver the online training programme despite limited access to high-speed internet services in many rural communities.
Chief executive Sarah Speight says as dairy women's lives were getting busier, the network needed be innovative in how it delivered training.
"The network was founded on using technology to empower dairying women. Our email forum which started in 2002 was a leading innovation at the time and is still really well-used," she says.
"Sure, there are limitations to what we can do, but our members have said they don't want limited access to broadband to stop the network delivering innovative services that suit the rural dairying lifestyle."
The network's traditional Dairy Days are a series of one-day workshops which run twice a year across the country covering a range of topics from essential business skills to on-farm practices. The virtual Dairy Day webcast is an extension of the training programme.
Speight says a pre-recorded webcast format, rather than a live webcast, minimises some of the problems experienced by slower internet speeds. The webcast could be watched anytime online, or downloaded onto DVD or as an audio file for watching off-line.
Dairy Women's Network worked with OneFarm to develop the webcast. OneFarm is a joint venture between Massey and Lincoln Universities that is supported by DairyNZ and the Government's Primary Growth partnership.
The first virtual Dairy Days webcast focuses on developing human resources skills for dairy farm employers, and will be available to DNW members from today.
Speight says while rural internet access and speed was still a challenge for many, rural New Zealanders expected the same access to online services as their urban neighbours.
In 2010 the government committed to the Rural Broadband Initiative. The initiative will bring high speed broadband to 252,000 customers, and 86% of rural households and businesses will have access to broadband peak speeds of at least 5Mbps.
Currently around 20% of rural homes and businesses have access to 5Mbps. (Source: www.med.govt.nz)
A technical lab manager for Apata, Phoebe Scherer, has won the Bay of Plenty 2025 Young Grower regional title.
Following heavy rain which caused flooding in parts of Nelson-Tasman and sewerage overflows in Marlborough, the Insurance & Financial Services Ombudsman Scheme (IFSO Scheme) is urging homeowners and tenants to be cautious when cleaning up and to take the right steps to support claims.
Newly elected Federated Farmers meat and wool group chair Richard Dawkins says he will continue the great work done his predecessor Toby Williams.
Hosted by ginger dynamo Te Radar, the Fieldays Innovation Award Winners Event put the spotlight on the agricultural industry's most promising ideas.
According to DairyNZ's latest Econ Tracker update, there has been a rise in the forecast breakeven milk price for the 2025/26 season.
Despite the rain and a liberal coating of mud, engines roared, and the 50th Fieldays Tractor Pull Competition drew crowds of spectators across the four days of the annual event.
OPINION: It's official, Fieldays 2025 clocked 110,000 visitors over the four days.
OPINION: The Federated Farmers rural advocacy hub at Fieldays has been touted as a great success.