Editorial: Agri's mojo is back
OPINION: Good times are coming back for the primary industries. From sentiment expressed at Fieldays to the latest rural confidence survey results, all indicate farmer confidence at a near-record high.
European dairy farmers are hurting too, says Primary Industries Minister Nathan Guy.
Guy, who attended the OECD agriculture ministers meeting in Paris this month, told Dairy News that EU farmers -- who get subsidies -- have the same cost of production and are paid about the same for their milk as New Zealand farmers.
"That goes to show that even with subsidies their farmers are still feeling pain. Some EU countries have now asked their farmers to voluntarily reduce supply because in the last 12 months production in the EU has grown by 2%.
"I told the ministers' forum that subsidies aren't sustainable in the long term and pointed out that when subsidies came off in NZ we had to innovate and adapt.... So it's not just NZ that's feeling the pain of global dairy prices, its right across the world."
Guy says he spent a day with the French Minister of Agriculture Stéphane Le Foll and went down to his electorate to see a farmers' market.
"I also went to Berlin where I had a couple of fascinating days visiting a dairy farm and milking a couple of cows. I later met with representatives of farming organisations from Germany, Ireland, Poland and other countries. We talked about the global milk price issue and it's clear this is very complicated. The EU countries talked about the Russian ban and the strong milk producing countries like Ireland and the Netherlands that are producing more milk."
Also compounding the problem, says Guy, is that low oil prices have reduced the buying power of some of the oil states. Last week he visited China to try to better understand what is happening there to supply and demand.
Guy says the OECD meeting was concerned with how farmers can feed a fast-growing population while also living with restrictions on farming. Climate change is a related issue, he says.
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.
Nationwide rural wellbeing programme, Farmstrong recently celebrated its tenth birthday at Fieldays with an event attended by ambassador Sam Whitelock, Farmers Mutual Group (FMG), Farmstrong partners, and government Ministers.
Six industry organisations, including DairyNZ and the Dairy Companies Association (DCANZ) have signed an agreement with the Ministry for Primary Industries (MPI) to prepare the country for a potential foot and mouth outbreak.
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.