Crisis talks on Gore district plan
Moves are underway for farmers and Māori in Southland to try and resolve and get clarity over what appears to be a controversial section of the proposed Gore District Plan.
Hamilton-based Dairy Goat Co-operative (DGC) is revamping its leadership in the hope of recovering from its financial doldrums.
A new chief executive starts next week, and the co-op chair Campbell Storey will step down from the role at DGC's annual meeting in September.
Alastair Hulbert, who has a marketing degree from Massey University, starts as CEO on May 20. He replaces David Hemara who left the co-op a month ago. Former chief executive Tony Giles is acting as CEO until Hulbert takes over.
Dairy News understands DGC needs a cash injection to remain viable. There was backlash from farmer shareholders earlier this year after DGC asked suppliers to reduce their milk supply by one-third for the coming season.
In March, Hemara told Dairy News that DGC had advised its shareholder suppliers that it will call for less milk in the 2024/24 season than shareholders would normally expect to supply.
"While the final amount of milk per shareholder is yet to be finalised, we have advised shareholders that we expect that they will be asked to reduce supply to around two-thirds of normal level.
"This reduction is necessary to better balance incoming milk against forecast product sales for 2024/25. This is a continuation of a cap that we have applied for several seasons and reflects changing demand levels in some markets since Covid."
Hemara said that the global supply/demand situation for goat milk has been impacted by four key factors: Declining birth rates internationally, sales channels that have changed during Covid - incuding the Daigou informal sales channel to China, and cost of living pressure in many economies. There has also been a structural change in the China consumer market where over the last four years China consumers have moved strongly to support Chinese domestic brands. This same impact has occurred in the infant formula segment, he added.
"At present, our view is that there is more goat milk than demand globally."
The chair of Beef + Lamb NZ, Kate Acland says the rush appears to be on to purchase farms and convert them to forestry before new rules limiting this come into effect.
New Zealand farmers will face higher urea prices this year, mainly on the back of tight global supply and a weak Kiwi dollar.
Andy Caughey of Wool Impact says a lot of people in NZ have been saying it's crazy that we are not using natural fibres in our buildings and houses.
Former chief executive of Beef+Lamb New Zealand Scott Champion will head the Foundation for Arable Research (FAR) from July.
Avian flu getting into New Zealand's poultry industry is the biosecurity threat that is most worrying for Biosecurity Minister Andrew Hoggard.
The annual domestic utilisation of wool will double to 30,000 tonnes because of the edict that government agencies should use woollen fibre products in the construction of new and refurbished buildings.
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