Halter raises $165m, company valued at $1.65b
New Zealand tech company Halter has raised $165 million from investors in its latest fundraising round.
Sir Lockwood Smith is full of praise for the efficiency of the sheep industry, saying they have done a great job over the years.
He highlights the way they have brought in genes from all sorts of breeds and incorporated these into our base Romney flock.
This has included improving the fertility of the national flock and using terminal sires to improve the growth rate of our lambs, so they are more productive and carbon efficiency.
"Our lamb production is outstandingly good, but our beef industry is miles behind. We still have farmers in NZ who don't have yearling heifers. How can you have carbon efficiency if you don't mate a heifer until she is two years old? Some farmers might say it's difficult, but we have got to do it and we have got to produce animals that can do it," he says.
The big shift that's needed globally, says Smith, is to look at carbon emissions in relation to the nutrient value of a product.
He says when you measure cow's milk and oat milk this way, the cow's milk clearly comes out on top.
He says if NZ and other countries could tie their emissions to this criterion there would be significant progress globally on climate change.
Newly elected Federated Farmers meat and wool group chair Richard Dawkins says he will continue the great work done his predecessor Toby Williams.
Hosted by ginger dynamo Te Radar, the Fieldays Innovation Award Winners Event put the spotlight on the agricultural industry's most promising ideas.
According to DairyNZ's latest Econ Tracker update, there has been a rise in the forecast breakeven milk price for the 2025/26 season.
Despite the rain and a liberal coating of mud, engines roared, and the 50th Fieldays Tractor Pull Competition drew crowds of spectators across the four days of the annual event.
Nationwide rural wellbeing programme, Farmstrong recently celebrated its tenth birthday at Fieldays with an event attended by ambassador Sam Whitelock, Farmers Mutual Group (FMG), Farmstrong partners, and government Ministers.
Six industry organisations, including DairyNZ and the Dairy Companies Association (DCANZ) have signed an agreement with the Ministry for Primary Industries (MPI) to prepare the country for a potential foot and mouth outbreak.
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