Plant-based bubble bursts
OPINION: Talking about plant-based food: “Chicken-free chicken” start-up Sunfed has had its valuation slashed to zero by major investor Blackbird Ventures, and its products are no longer available in supermarkets.
New data from Statistics NZ shows that Canterbury had the biggest fall in agricultural emissions, down 2.7%, mainly due to a decline in livestock numbers.
Unsurprisingly, Greenpeace has jumped in, claiming this is clear evidence that lowering cow stocking rates works to cut climate pollution and harping that lowering stocking rates is the simple answer to our climate change woes.
However, what the statistics really show is improving efficiency within the dairy industry. Our farmers are milking fewer cows but still producing the same amount of milk, thanks to better genetics and on-farm practices.
And over time, with new science and technology and even better genetics, our emissions will be lower. No one is buying the activists' suggestion to lower stock numbers.
Federated Farmers president Wayne Langford is claiming “some real success” on the 12 policy priorities it placed before the Coalition Government.
Federated Farmers is throwing its support behind the Fast-track Approvals Bill introduced by the Coalition Government to enable a fast-track decision-making process for infrastructure and development projects.
The latest report from ANZ isn’t good news for sheep farmers: lamb returns are forecast to remain low.
Divine table grapes that herald the start of a brand-new industry in Hawke’s Bay have been coming off vines in Maraekakaho.
In what appears to be a casualty of the downturn in the agricultural sector, a well-known machinery brand is now in the hands of liquidators and owing creditors $6.6 million.
One of New Zealand’s deepest breeder Jersey herds – known for its enduring connection through cattle with the UK’s longest reigning monarch, Queen Elizabeth II – will host its 75th anniversary celebration sale on-farm on April 22.