Getting sheep shape at Pyramid Farm
The vineyards at Pyramid Farm in Marlborough’s Avon Valley have never been run of the mill, with plantings that follow the natural contours of the land, 250 metres above sea level.
In a move that illustrates the current parlous state of the dairy industry, the country's biggest farmer is pulling out of dairy and moving into sheep milking.
As part of its shift away from dairying, Landcorp's arrangement to develop further dairy farms in the Central North Island for a private investor, Wairakei Pastoral, is being reviewed.
The state-owned farmer's strategy will be revealed in the coming weeks, chief executive Steven Carden told Rural News.
"What this is going to show – in general terms – is to slow down the amount of dairy development we are looking to do nationally. We have finished the dairy development work in Canterbury and we may do a small amount of dairy development work in a couple of discreet areas – only where the economic and environmental hurdles can be overcome," he says.
Carden hints that the four Wairakei Pastoral dairy farms coming on line may not go ahead in quite the way originally envisaged.
The move away from dairying – a strategy which Carden says is supported by the Government – is aimed at improving cash flow and reducing exposure to the very highs and very lows of the global milk price. He says this exposure puts real pressure on Landcorp's bottom line and is not conducive to long term investment.
"We want to get away from that."
Sheep milking is one of several new initiatives and Landcorp wants to position itself as a producer of high-earning, value-added products. Its new sheep milking operation, near Taupo, has attracted both local and international attention.
"We like the environmental footprint for sheep milking," Carden told Rural News.
"What we particularly like is that we are developing a product which first of all tastes great.
"It's got some pretty amazing nutritional characteristics and it's being really carefully developed and marketed in a way that's going to position it as a true, premium brand," he says.
"Secondly, what we like about it is there is a lot of IP that is being developed in building the farm systems – particularly driving the yields that are required and to produce at the scale that we need to meet the demand."
Carden says if he could build businesses that had those two characteristics each time – the demand side and the supply side – that would make Landcorp a very, long-term, sustainable profitable company.
OPINION: Ministry for Primary Industries' situation outlook for primary industries report (SOPI) makes impressive reading.
Sheep and beef farmers Matt and Kristin Churchward say using artificial intelligence (AI) to spread fertiliser on their sprawling 630ha farm is a game changer for their business.
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.
OPINION: Dust ups between rural media and PR types aren't unheard of but also aren't common, given part of the…
OPINION: The Hound hears from his canine pals in Southland that an individual's derogatory remarks on social media have left…