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.
Brett Wotton, an Eastern Bay of Plenty kiwifruit grower and harvest contractor, has won the 2025 Kiwifruit Innovation Award for his work to support lifting fruit quality across the industry.
Academic Dr Mike Joy and his employer, Victoria University of Wellington have apologised for his comments suggesting that dairy industry CEOs should be hanged for contributing towards nitrate poisoning of waterways.
Environment Southland's catchment improvement funding is once again available for innovative landowners in need of a boost to get their project going.
The team meeting at the Culverden Hotel was relaxed and open, despite being in the middle of calving when stress levels are at peak levels, especially in bitterly cold and wet conditions like today.
A comment by outspoken academic Dr Mike Joy suggesting that dairy industry leaders should be hanged for nitrate contamination of drinking/groundwater has enraged farmers.
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