Scales declares strong first half performance
Scales Corporation has today reported its results for the first half of the 2025 financial year, revealing what it says are outstanding results from its horticulture and logistics divisions.
NZ’s special agricultural trade envoy Mike Petersen says the latest tariff-rate quota (TRQ) proposal from Britain and the EU is puzzling.
The Meat Industry Association (MIA) says the proposal is absolute nonsense, is unnecessary and is premature.
Petersen, a sheep and beef farmer from Waipukurau, says for the UK and EU to claim that the 50:50 TRQ split is consistent with other deals done is nonsense and puzzling. Petersen says NZ worked hard in the 1970s and early 1980s to get a fair deal and especially the flexibility in the present deal.
“NZ’s argument has always been clear and considered: that we do not think there is a need to split these TRQs even if Brexit goes ahead as currently planned,” he told Rural News.
“The ability to have flexibility for NZ exporters to sell to the highest value market right across Europe is not just a benefit for NZ farmers, it is benefit a for UK and EU farmers as well. We are not looking for windfall gain out of this, but NZ will be worse off under the current proposal and we are saying under WTO rules that principle is absolutely rock solid in that no country should be worse off after notifying a change.”
Petersen says many issues on Brexit are unresolved and the filing of this latest schedule doesn’t make sense.
Fonterra directors and councillors are in for a pay rise next month.
Federated Farmers says it is cautiously welcoming signals from the Government that a major shake-up of local government is on its way.
Ashburton cropping and dairy farmer Matthew Paton has been elected to the board of rural services company, Ruralco.
The global agricultural landscape has entered a new phase where geopolitics – not only traditional market forces – will dictate agricultural trade flows, prices, and production decisions.
National Lamb Day is set to return in 2026 with organisers saying the celebrations will be bigger than ever.
Fonterra has dropped its forecast milk price mid-point by 50c as a surge in global milk production is putting downward pressure on commodity prices.

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