New genetic tool for beef farmers
Beef + Lamb New Zealand (B+LNZ) has launched a powerful new tool to help commercial beef farmers select the best bulls for their farm businesses.
Beef + Lamb New Zealand (B+LNZ) will exit Lanercost, its hill country Future Farm, in March 2023, it was announced earlier this week.
B+LNZ general manager farm excellence Dan Brier says the decision to end the lease on the North Canterbury property was the result of consultation with the B+LNZ Board, the local Farmer Council, and its national executive.
He says a lot has changed since the lease for the property was acquired back in 2018 and B+LNZ needs to ensure its priorities align with those of levy payers.
“The organisation is dealing with a number of other priorities, including supporting farmers dealing with climate change, an unprecedented number of new environmental regulations and changing market dynamics so there was a risk that the Future Farm could become a drain on resources,” Brier says.
He adds that the Future Farm now sits outside of B+LNZ’s core business and while it is starting to generate a profit, more input and resources are required in the future to realise the farm’s full potential and deliver for farmers as an extension tool.
He says during the lease of the 1,0310ha property, B+LNZ hosted numerous field days, ram buying and quad safety workshops, developed internal parasite resources and demonstrated the use of low methane genetics in a commercial environment.
Much of the material included in B+LNZ’s Farm Plan was trialled on Lanercost, as was B+LNZ’s GHG Calculator.
“We saw vastly improved farm and livestock performance over the period of the lease and most satisfyingly, we helped develop two talented young farm managers, one of whom will transition into his own farm business,” says Brier.
He says B+LNZ has worked hard to ensure there is a well-planned and successful change of management back to the farm owner, with the farm manager planning to stay on the farm.
The current projects being run or demonstrated on the farm (parasite management, farm planning and low methane sheep breeding) will be wound up before the end of the lease and the outcomes communicated to farmers.
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.
'Common sense' cuts to government red tape will make it easier for New Zealand to deliver safe food to more markets.
Balclutha farmer Renae Martin remembers the moment she fell in love with cows.
Academic freedom is a privilege and it's put at risk when people abuse it.
OPINION: For years, the ironically named Dr Mike Joy has used his position at Victoria University to wage an activist-style…
OPINION: A mate of yours truly has had an absolute gutsful of the activist group SAFE.