Editorial: Getting RMA settings right
OPINION: The Government has been seeking industry feedback on its proposed amendments to a range of Resource Management Act (RMA) national direction instruments.
NEWS THAT Miraka has signed a multimillion-dollar, joint-venture deal with Shanghai Pengxin to produce UHT milk shows how smart our small, entrepreneurial companies can be.
Let’s take nothing away from the great work Fonterra and its predecessor the NZ Dairy Board have done; New Zealand needs them. But the Miraka deal shows the value of these innovators. In just two years Miraka has set up a joint venture with the biggest dairy company in Vietnam, Vinamilk, and is shipping product to many parts of the globe.
It has a waiting list of suppliers which speaks volumes. This latest deal with Shanghai Pengxin shows that big overseas international companies have faith and confidence in some of our niche providers.
The Miraka deal is timely in other ways. It comes just days after an MPI report which highlights the potential of Maori agriculture: $8 billion dollars if Maori land was managed to its potential.
Miraka is showing what can be done; so are many other Maori trusts – role models for Maori and pakeha farmers. Take PKW in Taranaki, Fonterra’s biggest milk supplier in the region, producing upwards of three million kgMS/year. And dozens of other trusts and incorporations are worthy of mention.
The example of Miraka and its trusts should inspire others to follow suit and we would hope Miraka will share knowledge to lift the performance of others.
The challenge for Miraka, as with all successful small companies, is to retain competitive advantage. It must also keep fostering the ‘personal touch’ – workers in tune with managers and leaders to achieve company goals. Miraka has a strong company culture and the positive spirit of the workforce is evident when you visit their plant.
Being small and successful is not easy; hopefully Miraka can continue to do deals and retain a ‘family’ culture.
Foot and Mouth Disease outbreaks could have a detrimental impact on any country's rural sector, as seen in the United Kingdom's 2000 outbreak that saw the compulsory slaughter of over six million animals.
The Ministry for the Environment is joining as a national award sponsor in the Ballance Farm Environment Awards (BFEA from next year).
Kiwis are wasting less of their food than they were two years ago, and this has been enough to push New Zealand’s total household food waste bill lower, the 2025 Rabobank KiwiHarvest Food Waste survey has found.
OPINION: Sir Lockwood Smith has clearly and succinctly defined what academic freedom is all about, the boundaries around it and the responsibility that goes with this privilege.
DairyNZ says its plantain programme continues to deliver promising results, with new data confirming that modest levels of plantain in pastures reduce nitrogen leaching, offering farmers a practical, science-backed tool to meet environmental goals.
According to the most recent Rabobank Rural Confidence Survey, farmer confidence has inched higher, reaching its second highest reading in the last decade.
OPINION: Should cows in NZ be microchipped?
OPINION: Legislation being drafted to bring back the controversial trade of live animal exports by sea is getting stuck in the…