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The Fertiliser Quality Council (FQC) is really pleased with the response to the webcast launching the program New Zealand Needs Fertiliser and Plants Need Food. It is a short, sharp educational programme aimed at correcting the myths over fertiliser use.
FQC chair Neil Barton says the immediate response of 361 full views, plus a few on Facebook, was great news for the fertiliser industry. In addition the vast majority watched the programme right through.
"For too long we have had the self-styled environmental disciples perpetuating myths about fertiliser and its use," Barton says. "We now have a science-based programme refuting that. The fact that almost 400 New Zealanders decided to watch the launch of the programme, including a motivational address by Prof Rowarth from the University of Waikato Business School, is most heartening.
"Using a webcast also allows us to communicate better with the younger, more technically inclined farmers and council planners who may be unaware of the substantial impact of fertiliser on farming and the economy. The effect that superphosphate has had on pastoral farming post World War 11 is huge. It has enabled soil that can barely support brown top to produce high quality ryegrass, clover pastures.
"New Zealand soils are not naturally fertile and without fertiliser our economy, as we know it, is doomed. Responsible fertiliser use and application has a huge economic benefit and a small environmental footprint.
"The fact that we chose a webcast to launch the initiative also shows our willingness to get a key message across while creating a minimal environmental footprint," Barton says.
DairyNZ has pulled together tactics that will help farmers improve on-farm efficiency and have positive benefits for the environment. These tactics are based on research, data, and lessons from leading farmers.
New Zealand farmers will face higher urea prices this year, mainly on the back of tight global supply and a weak Kiwi dollar.
Ballance Agri-Nutrients is expanding its fixed price offer to help customers manage input costs with greater certainty over the coming season.
Research findings published in Europe support the concept of foliar fertilisation or foliar feeding in improving nitrogen use efficiency (NUE) while maintaining pasture productivity.
Ballance Agri-Nutrients has launched SimplyFert, an ex-hub and therefore lower-cost offering said to give its shareholders choice and flexibility for purchasing nutrients.
Alliance has announced a series of capital raise roadshow event, starting on 29 September in Tuatapere, Southland.
State farmer Pāmu (Landcorp) has announced a new equity partnership in an effort to support pathways to farm ownership for livestock farm operators.
Following a recent overweight incursion that saw a Mid-Canterbury contractor cop a $12,150 fine, the rural contracting industry is calling time on what they consider to be outdated and unworkable regulations regarding weight and dimensions that they say are impeding their businesses.
Trade Minister Todd McClay says his officials plan to meet their US counterparts every month from now on to better understand how the 15% tariff issue there will play out, and try and get some certainty there for our exporters about the future.
Brett Wotton, an Eastern Bay of Plenty kiwifruit grower and harvest contractor, has won the 2025 Kiwifruit Innovation Award for his work to support lifting fruit quality across the industry.
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