Blank Canvas rides white wine wave as New Zealand wine sales soar in China
If you find a new consumer in a developed wine market, you are taking them from someone else, says Blank Canvas co-founder Sophie Parker-Thomson MW.
Stubbornly high farm input costs, a slow Chinese recovery and a flood of Australian lamb onto the global market are the main factors contributing to the tough times being faced by NZ's sheep farmers.
This is borne out in the latest Beef + Lamb New Zealand (B+LNZ) Mid-Season Update, which confirms that farmers will have to continue to dig deep to stem what looks like widespread cash losses in the sheep and beef sector for the 23/24 financial year.
It says the outlook for the season has worsened significantly since their forecasts in October, because of Chinese and Australian factors, with the latter's exports of red meat bigger than originally forecast.
The report says an excellent lamb crop last spring has meant there are more lambs to sell, but this cannot compensate for lower per head prices and unavoidably high costs. Farm profits, it says, are forecast to be down 54% to an average of $62,600 per farm - a 67% fall in farm profit from the 2021-22 year. This is the lowest profit level since the 1980s and the Global Financial Crisis.
Sam McIvor, B+LNZ chief executive, says farmers are feeling it with many having already worked hard on cutting costs. He adds that all the indications are they're leaving no stone unturned to find additional savings - especially farmers with relatively high debt levels.
"Certain farm classes, such as high country, hard hill country, and South Island hill country, are hardest hit with profitability due to their heavier reliance on sheep revenue. The East Coast region, still recovering from Cyclone Gabrielle and ongoing wet weather setbacks in 2023, is projected to have the lowest regional profitability."
But the report notes that it's not all bad with beef holding up much better, driven by significant demand out of the US as it rebuilds its herd, post-drought. All beef is forecast to average $5.15 per kgCW for the season, which is 2.9% down on last year, but 2% higher than the five-year average.
Demand for lamb in Europe and the US has also been strong and this is expected to continue for the rest of the season.
Phoebe Scherer, a technical manager from the Bay of Plenty, has won the 2025 Young Grower of the Year national title.
The Fencing Contractors Association of New Zealand (FCANZ) celebrated the best of the best at the 2025 Fencing Industry Awards, providing the opportunity to honour both rising talent and industry stalwarts.
Award-winning boutique cheese company, Cranky Goat Ltd has gone into voluntary liquidation.
As an independent review of the National Pest Management Plan for TB finds the goal of complete eradication by 2055 is still valide, feedback is being sought on how to finish the job.
Beef + Lamb New Zealand has launched an AI-powered digital assistant to help farmers using the B+LNZ Knowledge Hub to create tailored answers and resources for their farming businesses.
A tiny organism from the arid mountains of mainland Greece is facilitating a new way of growing healthier animals on farms across New Zealand.
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