Farmers warned to upgrade as 3G shutdown looms
As the clock ticks towards the 3G mobile network shutdown, farmers are being warned to upgrade or risk losing connection to their supply chain.
A group of Hawke's Bay entrepreneurs have launched StockX, an online rural trading platform for New Zealand farmers.
StockX say they will reduce wastage and inefficiencies in the current, outdated livestock trading system.
The platform says they allow farmers to buy and sell direct, operators to plan and optimise bookings and meat processors to source and buy direct from farmers.
Users have the ability to set up livestock for sale listings and create personalised alerts for listings of interest. Unique to this area, banking is managed through a trust account to ensure security of funds between buyer and seller.
StockX says costs are reduced through direct transactions, value is gained through access to a wider market and relationships and knowledge are built across the whole supply chain.
Managing director Jason Roebuck says "StockX offers farmers choice and control over a key activity in their farming business. Of significant interest to farmers will be the capacity to choose when and whom they sell."
Virtual fencing and herding systems supplier, Halter is welcoming a decision by the Victorian Government to allow farmers in the state to use the technology.
DairyNZ’s latest Econ Tracker update shows most farms will still finish the season in a positive position, although the gap has narrowed compared with early season expectations.
New Zealand’s national lamb crop for the 2025–26 season is estimated at 19.66 million head, a lift of one percent (or 188,000 more lambs) on last season, according to Beef + Lamb New Zealand’s (B+LNZ) latest Lamb Crop report.
Farmers appear to be cautiously welcoming the Government’s plan to reform local government, according to Ag First chief executive, James Allen.
The Fonterra divestment capital return should provide “a tailwind to GDP growth” next year, according to a new ANZ NZ report, but it’s not “manna from heaven” for the economy.
Fonterra's Eltham site in Taranaki is stepping up its global impact with an upgrade to its processed cheese production lines, boosting capacity to meet growing international demand.

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