LIC semen probe results to be made public
The result of two probes into the supply of bad sire semen to over 1100 LIC farmer customers will be made public next month.
New Zealand dairy farmers are benefiting from the global food demand to a greater extent than their Australian counterparts, says Mark Bennett, head of Agribusiness ANZ Regional Australia.
Bennett said at the National Fieldays that dairy farmers in Australia had not captured farmgate returns to the same extent as in New Zealand in the last year and, as a result, confidence was lower.
"After improved seasonal conditions and a return of irrigation supplies, Australian dairy farmers are still pondering what it might take to capture the much-talked-about food demand explosion - particularly in Asia," he said.
Confidence is down following recent price outlook for the 2013 season, which could see returns in export production fall by around 10% to 15% in 2013.
"While dairy farmers in southern states have been able to produce surpluses over the past two years that allowed debt reduction and consolidation, it has not been enough to stimulate investment and demand for expansion," Bennett said.
Bennett added that land prices in all dairy regions in Australia appeared to have softened somewhere between 5% and 20% and that it would take an improvement in farmgate prices (which could still be driven by a lower AUD), and continuing good seasons, to help turn things around.
Agriculture is extremely important to the economies of both countries, and is one of ANZ's priority global sectors.
Bennett said his visit to the fieldays was a great opportunity to connect with ANZ New Zealand colleagues.
"ANZ is the biggest banker to agribusiness in Australasia, and we want to continue to leverage our skills and knowledge in agriculture and link up our business on both sides of the Tasman.
"This will help us to better support our clients doing cross-border trade both here and throughout Asia-Pacific."
Making things simpler, not harder, for deer farmers in farm planning and coping with regulations is Deer Industry New Zealand (DINZ) industry capability manager John Ladley’s current focus.
Rural Women New Zealand (RWNZ) is launching an online business directory called The Country Women’s Collective to promote and support entrepreneurial rural women.
New Zealand actor Sam Neill has joined the Campaign for Wool NZ as an ambassador, lending his name and profile to educate and advocate for New Zealand strong wool.
Living labs that bring together expertise at locations around New Zealand are among potential solutions identified by researchers to help the country move towards a more climate resilient future.
The New Zealand Food Safety (NZFS) has started issuing annual reports, a new initiative to share information on consumer-level recalls with the public.
The chair of the Dairy Environment Leaders, the president of the North Otago Federated Farmers, and a herd health veterinarian are among those nominated for the Fonterra Dairy Woman of the Year award this year.
OPINION: There's an outpouring of concern over the parlous state of one of our major industries.
OPINION: Food security is a sore point in the UK, as a direct result of its National Food Strategy, and…