Is augmented reality the future of farming?
Imagine a farmer being able to tell a paddock’s pasture cover and dry matter content just by looking at it, or accessing information about a cow’s body condition score in the same way.
Dairy customers around the world are demanding transparency, wanting to know about the sector's products and services, and what it is doing to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, says foresight practitioner and strategist Melissa Clarke-Reynolds.
Addressing dairy farmers at a recent DairyNZ Farmers' Forum in Cambridge, Clarke-Reynolds highlighted her optimism in dairy being able to position well, while responding to the changing farming landscape. She also spoke last week at the Canterbury Farmers' Forum.
"We are coming into a time of turbulence, where we are under pressure to reduce our emissions. Part of this challenge is looking at what premiums we can add to milk, to gain a higher price and provide what the customer is asking for," she says.
"Our farmers produce artisan milk at volume. This is milk that is from grass-fed cows, in the open country, and produced by farmers that care for their animals, people, communities and country.
"We need to make these benefits and 'natural-ness' at the forefront of our products, in a world where milk will be made cheaper and better by technology in the future.
"Dairy is the backbone to our economy, and we produce milk well. But now is the time to prepare for the disruption that is coming in the next 10 years and consider how you will shift to differentiate your individual businesses."
DairyNZ chairman Jim van der Poel also emphasised that New Zealand continues to contribute significantly to the economy, generating $22 billion in export earnings in the 2021/22 season.
"Our dairy products today are highly valued by our global customers. They know them to be safe, of high quality and produced to a high standard," Jim says.
"This was no fluke. New Zealand dairy farmers are some of the most innovative in the world. We have always had challenges, but over the years a combination of farmer innovation and science has driven us forward and will continue to help as we face difficult challenges."
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.