Misguided campaign
OPINION: Last week, Greenpeace lit up Fonterra's Auckland headquarters with 'messages from the common people' - that the sector is polluting the environment.
A company that makes fence posts from 100% recycled plastics has won an innovation award at the NZ National Fieldays.
Future Post says its product boasts a stronger build with more durability than traditional fence post designs.
Judges at Fieldays innovation awards said this product provides a way for farmers to participate in addressing what is a massive environmental problem for New Zealand.
“This is a positive and potential game changing step towards dealing with New Zealand’s plastic recycling challenge,” they said. The company won the Fieldays Launch NZ Award.
Future Post was founded in the time-honoured kiwi way of trying to find an ingenious solution for a challenging problem. While attempting to build a fence on an old rubbish dump site, Jerome Wenzlick found his wooden fence posts were breaking as he tried ramming them through all the waste plastic in the ground.
With a passion for the environment, Jerome had the revelation that if he could build a stronger fence post from waste plastic, he’d also help solve a bigger environmental problem. Soon after, a chance meeting with Bindi Ground, a farmer with previous experience in recycling and repurposing products, led to a business partnership and a commitment to produce premium fencing products that perform better and lasts for longer.
Future Post works closely with Fonterra; getting recycled Anchor milk bottles to make their product.
A blockbuster year and an exciting performance: that's how Ministry for Primary Industries (MPI) Director General, Ray Smith is describing the massive upsurge in the fortunes of the primary sector exports for the year ended June 2025.
Federated Farmers president Wayne Langford says the 2025 Fieldays has been one of more positive he has attended.
A fundraiser dinner held in conjunction with Fieldays raised over $300,000 for the Rural Support Trust.
Recent results from its 2024 financial year has seen global farm machinery player John Deere record a significant slump in the profits of its agricultural division over the last year, with a 64% drop in the last quarter of the year, compared to that of 2023.
An agribusiness, helping to turn a long-standing animal welfare and waste issue into a high-value protein stream for the dairy and red meat sector, has picked up a top innovation award at Fieldays.
The Fieldays Innovation Award winners have been announced with Auckland’s Ruminant Biotech taking out the Prototype Award.