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Rabobank animal proteins analyst Jen Corkran.
Farmgate beef prices remain at record levels and show no sign of easing.
By February, the North Island bull indicator had reached $9.65/kg CWT, an all-time high, and premiums on top, meaning some producers may be getting closer to $10/kg.
Rabobank animal proteins analyst Jen Corkran noted that farmgate beef pricing had held at record levels across the first two months of 2026, supported by strong offshore demand.
She says December 2025 saw the average export value for New Zealand beef reach $12.42/kg, another record, reflecting both a supportive currency at the time, and broad global demand."
ANZ agri economist Matt Dilly says beef prices continue to rise both at the farmgate and in-market.
With strong demand overseas and great pasture conditions, prices should easily hold through the end of 2025/26 and likely longer, says Dilly.
Corkran agrees that the NZ summer has so far delivered very favourable grass-growing conditions across the country.
"This has enabled farmers to hold stock longer and add additional weight. While positive for productivity, this does contribute to localised procurement challenges at times, even as export demand holds firm," she says.
Corkran says New Zealand beef export volumes are expected to increase by 3-4% in 2026, in line with higher production.
37 farmers from across the Rangitīkei and Manawatū regions recently spent a day-and-a-half learning new business management and planning skills at Rabobank’s latest AgPathways Programmes in Whanganui.
Carey Pawson-Edwards, a South Canterbury stock manager, has been named the winner of the 2026 Rabobank Management Project Award.
Despite near universal optimism in the rural sector, a panel of New Zealand’s leading food and agri minds caution that the sector must be intentional about its future path.
Rabobank has celebrated the tenth anniversary of its AgPathways Programme, with 23 farmers from Otago and Southland gathering for two-and-a-half days to learn new business management and planning skills.
Rabobank launched its Good Deeds Competition back in 2017 with the aim of supporting and celebrating the incredible efforts of rural communities in enhancing their local areas.
New Zealand dairy farmers are set to be the first in the world to receive access to a new digital physical milk pricing tool that enables them to fix the price for their physical milk.
State farmer Pāmu is opening its farm gates this summer in an effort to give the rural sector the opportunity to see how large-scale, multi-system farming is delivering productivity and profitability across New Zealand.
A five-year study has found that the cost of reducing emissions without technology may be significant and unsustainable for Northland dairy farmers.
DairyNZ says Waikato farmers need certainty on Plan Change 1, but they say that certainty must be matched with practical, workable rules and a clear transition that doesn't get ahead of the new resource management system currently under review.
While the Government has moved quickly to make commercial hauliers' lot easier during the current fuel crisis, they appear to be stuck in the creep box when it comes to the agricultural industry.
Waikato farmers have been told that the Government’s new planning system legislation and the region’s Plan Change 1 (PC1) “won’t mesh together very well”.
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