Farmer warns of hidden risks from forestry neighbours
Farmers who find the land next to them is about to be converted into forestry, face potential damage and costly consequences.
Apiculture NZ says the future focus of the industry is finding markets for what is seen as a glut of honey.
Chair Bruce Wills says the industry's recent three-day conference was a mixture of positive news and challenges. But it was honey exports that took centre stage.
In the year ended 2020, New Zealand earned $505 million from honey exports, but the outlook for this season is not good. In MPI's (Ministry for Primary Industries) latest report on the state of the primary sector, the bad news is spelt out with honey exports predicted to be down almost $1 million by 2025.
However, the problem is worse, with an estimated 20,000 tonnes of unsold honey being held in beekeepers' sheds around the country. This honey mountain is equivalent to about a year of production.
Will says this all goes back to the controversy over what is and isn't mānuka honey.
"The price of the honey that didn't meet the mānuka criteria crashed and a bunch of beekeepers have said they will keep this in their shed because they are not prepared to sell at the low price."
Wills says the mānuka boom also saw a dramatic rise in hive numbers and these now stand at about 900,000.
The value for pollination and other bee products is estimated at about $5 billion.
OPINION: For close to eight years now, I have found myself talking about methane quite a lot.
The Royal A&P Show of New Zealand, hosted by the Canterbury A&P Association, is back next month, bigger and better after the uncertainty of last year.
Claims that farmers are polluters of waterways and aquifers and 'don't care' still ring out from environmental groups and individuals. The phrase 'dirty dairying' continues to surface from time to time. But as reporter Peter Burke points out, quite the opposite is the case. He says, quietly and behind the scenes, farmers are embracing new ideas and technologies to make their farms sustainable, resilient, environmentally friendly and profitable.
Relationships are key to opening new trading opportunities and dealing with some of the rules that countries impose that impede the free flow of trade.
Dawn Meats chief executive Niall Browne says their joint venture with Alliance Group will create “a dynamic industry competitor”.
Tributes have flowed following the death of former Prime Minister and political and business leader, Jim Bolger. He was 90.
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