New pasture guide launched to support farmers in a changing climate
A new publication has been launched that offers a comprehensive and up-to-date resource on commercially available grazing pasture species in New Zealand.
Stand up and be counted millennials: that was the message from the winner of Massey University’s Agricultural Alumni Award, Bridget Hawkins, founder and chief executive of the agritech company Regen.
Hawkins was raised on a sheep and beef farm near Reporoa and in 1989 completed a masters degree in agricultural science at Massey.
She told students and graduates at the annual Massey Agricultural Awards dinner that while some people see the attitudes of millennials as negative, she takes quite the opposite view and reckons the primary sector needs their skills and new ways of thinking.
Hawkins says the world is in a state of VUCA (volatile, uncertain, complex and ambiguous) and young people will need their skills to operate successfully in this environment.
“When you start work, be respectful; don’t walk in saying you know everything.
“But don’t be afraid to speak up because you are born in a world where technology is your normal – unlike me.
“You interact differently with it because it has always been part of your life and this is the way things need to be done now.
“There is a need for action in the primary sector and it is not at a stage where we can have incremental change. It needs much broader thinking and people in the sector have to be ready to experiment and drive stuff. It’s an exciting time to enter the primary sector.”
Hawkins says the sector needs the perspective of youth and young people should not be afraid to step up and help shape the future.
Labour's agriculture spokesperson Jo Luxton says while New Zealand needs more housing, sacrificing our best farmland to get there is not the answer.
Profitability issues facing arable farmers are the same across the world, says New Zealand's special agricultural trade envoy Hamish Marr.
Over 85% of Fonterra farmer suppliers will be eligible for customer funding up to $1,500 for solutions designed to drive on-farm efficiency gains and reduce emissions intensity.
Tighter beef and lamb production globally have worked to the advantage of NZ, according to the Meat Industry Association (MIA).
Groundswell is ramping up its 'Quit Paris' campaign with signs going up all over the country.
Some farmers in the Nelson region are facing up to five years of hard work to repair their damaged properties caused by the recent devastating floods.
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