NZ household food waste falls again
Kiwis are wasting less of their food than they were two years ago, and this has been enough to push New Zealand’s total household food waste bill lower, the 2025 Rabobank KiwiHarvest Food Waste survey has found.
Applications close at the end of this month for this year's Rabobank Farm Managers Program, a leading agricultural business management course for the next generation of farm leaders.
Now in its eighth year, the prestigious Rabobank program offers young farmers from across New Zealand and Australia, and a range of agricultural sectors, the opportunity to develop and enhance their business management skills.
Rabobank business programs manager Nerida Sweetapple says the programme is constantly evolving to reflect the changing challenges and opportunities in agriculture.
"We make adjustments each year to the program content to reflect feedback from participants and our own research,"Sweetapple says. "The recently-added Attitudinal Health sessions have been very valuable. It is important for farm managers of the future to be healthy – both physically and mentally – so they can properly run their businesses."
Delivered in one week-long residential module, the program covers the latest practices in business management, leadership, planning, finance, and communication and how these can be applied directly to participants' farm businesses.
Only a limited selection of high-calibre applicants are accepted for each year's intake, selected from a group of leading farmers from a range of commodities and geographical locations in New Zealand and Australia.
Sweetapple says many past participants credit the Farm Managers Program with giving them the tools and inspiration to develop their farm career and plans to the next level.
"Participants take away many new skills and techniques from the program. They are also guided to develop a commercially-driven perspective on farm management and the ability to put systems and structures in place to manage growth. Participants also gain clarity and confidence from the course and the exchange of information between their fellow participants," she said.
Applications for the 2013 Rabobank Farm Managers Program are open until April 26. This year's program will be held at the Grange Cleveland Winery, Lancefield, Victoria, Australia, from Monday June 17 to Friday 21 June, 2013.
An independent report, prepared for Alliance farmer shareholders is backing the proposed $250 million joint venture investment by Irish company Dawn Meats Group.
Whangarei field service technician, Bryce Dickson has cemented his place in John Deere’s history, becoming the first ever person to win an award for the third time at the annual Australian and New Zealand Technician of the Year Awards, announced at a gala dinner in Brisbane last night.
NZPork has appointed Auckland-based Paul Bucknell as its new chair.
The Government claims to have delivered on its election promise to protect productive farmland from emissions trading scheme (ETS) but red meat farmers aren’t happy.
Foot and Mouth Disease outbreaks could have a detrimental impact on any country's rural sector, as seen in the United Kingdom's 2000 outbreak that saw the compulsory slaughter of over six million animals.
The Ministry for the Environment is joining as a national award sponsor in the Ballance Farm Environment Awards (BFEA from next year).
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