Why Now Is the Time to Plan Farm Succession, Findex Says
OPINION: Succession and long-term planning are perennial topics because it is perpetually sidelined on busy farms.
A lift in meat and dairy manufacturing helped increase total manufacturing sales in the June 2016 quarter, Statistics New Zealand says.
After adjusting for seasonal effects, the volume of total manufacturing sales rose 2.8% in the June 2016 quarter, with meat and dairy product manufacturing volumes rising 8.6%.
"This quarter's large rise in meat and dairy manufacturing sales followed a sizeable fall in the March 2016 quarter," business indicators manager Tehseen Islam says.
"Despite some large movements in recent quarters, the sales volumes for meat and dairy have increased just slightly from where they were in early 2014," Islam says. "This contrasts with the sales values, which have dropped significantly since then, mainly due to falling dairy prices."
Dairy manufacturing prices were 33% lower in the June 2016 quarter than in the March 2014 quarter, while meat manufacturing prices were 4.2% higher.
The trend for the meat and dairy product manufacturing sales value (which includes price effects) has fallen 20% since a series high in the March 2014 quarter, while the volume trend has risen 3.2% over the same period.
Outside meat and dairy, the sales volume rose in most other manufacturing industries in the June 2016 quarter, with notable rises in industries supplying products to the construction sector. Petroleum and coal product manufacturing had the largest fall in the latest quarter, following large rises in the previous two quarters.
The sales volume for total manufacturing excluding meat and dairy was up 1.4% in the June 2016 quarter.
LIC shareholders have elected a new North Island representative to the co-operative's Board, along with five representatives to its Shareholder Reference Group (SRG), following the company's Annual Meeting held in Invercargill.
Farmers across parts of Southland and South Otago are continuing to deal with difficult conditions after a prolonged run of wet weather, with pressure building around feed supply, stock management, pasture damage, farm infrastructure and everyday workloads.
Federated Farmers says it welcomes Labour's commitment to reviewing the Sharemilking Agreements Act, calling on other major parties to do the same.
For Canterbury dairy farmers Sian Meijer and Rick Wobben, wearable technology has become one of their most valuable on-farm tools - helping manage 1850 cows across an expansive, high-performing dairy operation while improving efficiency, mating outcomes and day-to-day decision making.
Fonterra has unveiled its annual results for the 2026 financial year, posting $27 billion in revenue and close to $20 billion returned to New Zealand farmer owners and unit holders.
The first major update to the Dairy Cattle Code of Welfare in more than a decade has been released, marking what DairyNZ describes as an important step in ensuring animal welfare standards continue to evolve alongside scientific evidence and on-farm realities.
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