NZ nears Mycoplasma bovis eradication milestone
A major milestone on New Zealand's unique journey to eradicate Mycoplasma bovis could come before the end of this year.
By 2021, New Zealand dairying will again be enjoying times like the halcyon days of 2014, says MPI’s latest SOPI report.
By then, it predicts, earnings from dairy products will be just over $18 billion, but the growth will be incremental and is predicated on WMP prices holding up and gains from new, value-add products.
MPI says infant formula has huge potential for NZ: its contribution in export dollars is expected to double.
MPI’s Jarred Mair notes that all the NZ dairy companies are playing a role in the value-add quest.
However, the outlook for meat and wool is far from rosy: exports are expected to fall by 9.8% to $8.3 billion in 2017 and to remain around that level for the next four years.
Beef revenue for 2017 is forecast to fall 14.7% to $2.6b, due mainly to fewer dairy cull cows going through the works.
The picture for lamb is equally glum: revenue is expected to be down by 6.7% for 2017 due to falling sheep numbers. Wool revenue is even worse, predicted to fall by 28% in the coming 12 months.
However it’s not all gloom and doom for lamb, Mair says, thanks to Iran now coming back into the market and Silver Fern Farms, for example, promoting consumer packs in the UK market.
NZ lamb is well recognised there as a premium product and with new, high-end consumer products coming on line its future is still bright.
Forestry is a rising star: revenue is up 6.4% due to a 9.8% rise last season. But these spikes in growth will lessen over the next five years. By then forestry is forecast to be earning $6.2b annually.
And horticulture is on track to reach $5b in earnings in 2017 and to hit $6.3b in 2021. Wine, pip fruit, avocados and especially kiwifruit are leading the charge.
“There is sustained growth in the kiwifruit sector, and in the pipfruit sector two million trees have gone into the ground in the last few years,” Mair says.
“Right across the horticultural sector there are very strong signals and it is starting to show its productive capability.”
Commercial fruit and vegetable growers are being encouraged to cast their votes in the Horticulture New Zealand (HortNZ) board directors' election.
A unique discovery by a Palmerston North science company, Biolumic, looks set to revolutionise the value and potential of ryegrass and the secret is the application of ultraviolet (UV) light.
A New Zealand company is redefining the global collagen game by turning New Zealand sheepskin into a world-class health product.
With further extreme weather on the way, ANZ Bank is encouraging farmers and business owners impacted by the recent extreme weather and flooding to seek support if they need it.
New Zealand must continue to educate Chinese consumers about the unique qualities of its red meat products and how they differ from competitors, says Silver Fern Farms chief executive Dan Boulton.
There are opportunities outside the farmgate for young farmers to further develop their skills, says 2025 Primary Industries Emerging Leader Award winner Bridie Virbickas.
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