Seedy milk
OPINION: Seeds of legume plants are being used to make dairy-free milk products by scientists at Massey University’s Palmerston North labs.
A warning to dairy farmers: a move to sheep milking is probably not an option.
An organiser of a recent sheep milking conference, associate professor Craig Prichard, of Massey University, says sheep milking is never going to come anywhere near replacing the bovine industry.
He says a Taranaki farmer called asking what sort of sheep milking operation he could run on 100ha.
"I said 'you're asking me the wrong question'. I asked 'where is your market, where is your processor and who are you going to sell your milk to?' Often people in the bovine industry are so used to having someone take their milk. This farmer was asking the wrong question.
"Everyone in the sheep milking business has to solve the market and the producer problem first. They must ask, 'where is my market and who am I going to sell to?' That drives the production process. In the bovine industry they do not think market first; they are a supplier driven industry."
Prichard says every bovine dairy farmer in NZ struggles to see their market; it's an institutional problem. He says he knows of many dairy farmers who say the industry is not connecting with customers.
"On the other hand the sheep milking industry is putting customers right at the core of it and they are the ones who are going to drive this sector."
Prichard says the sheep milking conference had good science presentations and showcased where the industry has got to in a relatively short time.
In what appears to be a casualty of the downturn in the agricultural sector, a well-known machinery brand is now in the hands of liquidators and owing creditors $6.6 million.
One of New Zealand’s deepest breeder Jersey herds – known for its enduring connection through cattle with the UK’s longest reigning monarch, Queen Elizabeth II – will host its 75th anniversary celebration sale on-farm on April 22.
Rural trader PGG Wrightson has revised its operating earnings guidance, saying trading conditions have deteriorated since the last market update in February.
It's been a bumper season for maize and other supplements in the eastern Bay of Plenty.
Leading farmers from around New Zealand connected to share environmental stories and inspiration and build relationships at the Dairy Environment Leaders (DEL) national forum in Wellington last month.
AgriZeroNZ, a joint venture fast-tracking emissions reduction tools for farmers, is pouring $5 million in a biotech company to develop a low emissions farm pasture with increased productivity gains.
OPINION: Talking about plant-based food: “Chicken-free chicken” start-up Sunfed has had its valuation slashed to zero by major investor Blackbird…
OPINION: Synlait's financial woes won’t be going away anytime soon.