Green but not much grass!
Dairy farmers in the lower North Island are working on protecting next season, according to Federated Farmers dairy chair Richard McIntyre, who farms just north of the Horowhenua township of Levin.
Farmers, dairy product manufacturers and trade representatives in Uruguay and Argentina heard a New Zealand take on current agricultural issues last week.
Federated Farmers of NZ President Katie Milne was engaged in a busy schedule of speaking and meeting engagements in Montevideo and Buenos Aires in a programme put together by the Ministry for Primary Industries (MPI), the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade, and New Zealand’s Ambassador to Argentina, Paraguay and Uruguay, Raylene Liufalani.
Milne’s engagements in Uruguay included giving an address to a conference with the theme ‘Social innovation for a country with agricultural conscience’, a meeting with Uruguay’s Minister for Agriculture and Livestock, Enzo Benech, and visiting the PGG Wrightson Pas Research Centre to witness their operations in Latin America.
At the Argentine Congress on November 22, which included a Q&A session with Argentine Deputies and Senators, Milne’s topics included future farming challenges, the importance of co-operatives in NZ agriculture (dairy in particular) and the role of women in rural communities.
Among other events, she also had discussions with CIL (Argentina’s dairy industry body) and spoke at a symposium of La Serenisima, a dairy product maker with more than 5000 employees and annual revenue of more than $NZ 2 billion.
During her visit she also met Uruguayan and Argentine farmers, including her counterparts, to hear first-hand the challenges they are facing in the region.
While New Zealand has a much higher level of trade with Asian nations that those in Latin America, the latter is seen as offering significant opportunities — especially with Chile and Peru being signatories to the CPTPP. New Zealand is also exploring deeper trade engagement with MERCOSUR (Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay and Uruguay).
Fonterra has cemented its position as the country’s number one cheesemaker by picking up nine NZ Champion of Cheese trophies this year.
New Zealand dairy processors are welcoming the Government’s commitment to continuing to push for Canada to honour its trade commitments.
An educational programme, set up by Beef + Land New Zealand, to connect farmers virtually with primary and intermediate school students has reported the successful completion of its second year.
The Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations (FAO) has welcomed a resolution adopted by the United Nations (UN) General Assembly to declare 2026 International Year of the Woman Farmer.
Waikato herd health veterinarian Katrina Roberts is the 2024 Fonterra Dairy Woman of the Year.
Horticulture NZ chief executive Nadine Tunley will step down in August.