NZ Beef’s US Opportunity and the Dairy Beef Initiative
Good medium to long term prospects for NZ beef, especially in the US, has heighted the focus on various initiatives to capitalise on this situation.
Rabobank New Zealand will reduce the variable base rate on its rural loans by 0.5%, effective from 16 October 2024.
Todd Charteris, Rabobank New Zealand chief executive, says the decision follows the Reserve Bank’s announcement that it would cut the official cash rate (OCR) by 0.5%.
“We have carefully reviewed our position and are pleased to be able to pass on the full 0.50% rate reduction to our New Zealand food and agribusiness lending clients at this time,” Charteris says.
Additionally, Rabobank’s fixed rates within its All-In-One loan facility reflect daily changes in wholesale markets that had priced in the expected cuts to the OCR within the last month, he adds.
“These cuts will provide a welcome reduction in costs for New Zealand’s farmers and growers who have faced high interest and farm input costs over recent seasons,” Charteris says.
“Our September Rural Confidence Survey found farmer confidence in the broader agri economy is now on the up – off the back of higher commodity prices and lower interest rates – and this further rate drop should act as another boost to primary producer sentiment,” he concludes.
Farmlands has reported higher operating earnings and a profit before income tax of $4.5 million, up 118.9%, for the year ended 30 June 2026.
AgriZeroNZ has invested a further NZ$17.7 million in methane vaccine developer ArkeaBio and NZ$5.1 million in BioLumic, a New Zealand-founded company that uses ultraviolet light to develop low-emissions pasture..
Good news for Fonterra farmers. The co-op has raised this season’s farmgate milk price mid-point by 25c to $9.75/kgMS.
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In farming there are external factors that can influence behaviour of a whole herd, such as a bad weather event, triggering false positive heat detections or health attentions.
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