increase font size
Agriculture Minister Damien O'Connor with the 2023 SOPI report.
OPINION: Sobering is perhaps the best word to describe the latest Situation and Outlook report on Primary Industries (SOPI) produced by the Ministry for Primary Industries (MPI).
The quarterly report is a snapshot of the performance of our primary sector that also forecasts the outlook for the coming four years, based on data from a variety of sources.
First up the good news, much touted by the Government, is the performance of the overall sector in the past to the end of June: The sector has earned the country a whopping $56.2 billion – an increase of 6% on 2022 and according to Agriculture Minister, Damien O’Connor, $1.2 billion more than MPI had earlier predicted.
This great outcome is largely the result of the performance of the dairy industry which earned $25.1 billion – double that of the meat and wool sector. Further good news is that, all things being equal, the dairy industry will keep up the good work over the next four years and by 2027, export revenue from the sector will hit $28.2 billion.
But in a world where things change rapidly, where the words volatility and uncertainty are commonly used, there is no guarantee things will go as MPI suggests.
On the home front, dairy farmers face a tidal wave of challenges with high interest costs, inflation, on-farm costs, a messy situation with regulations which has now become politicised and then there a still something of a problem with accessing labour.
So, it’s far from a perfect world.
OPINION: The case of four Canterbury high country stations facing costly and complex consent hearing processes highlights the dilemma facing the farming sector as the country transitions into a replacement for the Resource Management Act (RMA).
OPINION: Farmers are rightly urging the Government to relax the rules around KiwiSaver and allow young farmers to use their savings towards purchasing either a house, cows or a farm.
Winter grazing is looming again and the Ministry for Primary Industries says it's going to increase proactive farm visits and provide practical advice for farmers in the lead up to the season.
OPINION: Over the past 25 years growing wine, Jonathan Hamlet has seen "a massive evolution" in the care taken in vineyards.
OPINION: Foreign policy is a real strength of Winston Peter and this is recognised by Ministry for Foreign Affairs and Trade (MFAT) officials who, so the story goes, wanted him in his present role because of his experience in that field.
Fieldays 2025 opens this week with organisers saying the theme, 'Your Place', highlights the impact the event has on agriculture both in the Southern Hemisphere and across the globe.
Sam Carter, assistant manager for T&G's Pakowhai Sector, has been named the Hawke's Bay 2025 Young Grower of the Year.
The CEO of Apples and Pears NZ, Karen Morrish, says the strategic focus of her organisation is to improve grower returns.
A significant breakthrough in understanding facial eczema (FE) in livestock brings New Zealand closer to reducing the disease’s devastating impact on farmers, animals, and rural communities.
Farmer co-operative LIC has closed its satellite-backed pasture measurement platform – Space.
OPINION: The case of four Canterbury high country stations facing costly and complex consent hearing processes highlights the dilemma facing the farming sector as the country transitions into a replacement for the Resource Management Act (RMA).
OPINION: The Free Speech Union is taking this one too far.
OPINION: New national data from The Drug Detection Agency (TDDA), a leading workplace drug tester, shows methamphetamine (meth) use is…
