Australian states embrace virtual fencing, creating growth opportunities for Halter
More Australian states are embracing virtual fencing technology, opening growth opportunities for Kiwi companies like Halter.
Gaining access for New Zealand pork into Australia is no silver bullet for the industry, but a small step that may lead to further opportunities, says NZ Pork chairman Ian Carter.
“We are not sure how this is going to play out commercially,” Carter told Rural News.
“This thing has been in gestation for four to five years. To get agreements like that doesn’t happen overnight.
“It is hard to gear up from a commercial aspect until you have an agreement and know what the conditions are likely to be. The Australians are pretty good at protecting their borders as we all know.
“There are a few conditions in there…. It needs to be cooked [once in Australia] and it needs to have further processing in some form before it is released into the Australian marketplace.
“It is not just a case of sending containerised fresh pork to Australia and it’s out there [in the market]. It all adds complexities to how and when and what the product can end up being.”
It is now up to commercial outfits to pick it up and start creating the market and understanding the Australian market to be able to deliver on the agreement reached, he says.
“As I say the Australians are very good at protecting their border. Obviously they produce more pig meat than we do… so it’s commercially not easy to get into.
“There certainly is some interest from our larger processors.”
The Australians haven’t been shy in sending pork to us for many years, Carter points out.
Until now pork exported to Australia has had to be processed into bacon or ham or pH treated. NZ product will require some treatment, whether it be cooked or processed into bacon or ham or similar, he says.
“We are also aware there are a lot of NZers who live in Australia, which has a country-of-origin labelling requirement; so there’s an opportunity to get a NZ branded product in. If some loyalties and aspirations cause some NZers in Australia to choose to eat NZ produced pork then there may be the opportunity for them to access it.”
He’d like to think that gaining access is a tribute to some of the work NZ Pork has done in animal welfare, such as the PigCare programme.
“We all know these things take time and... it is little steps to get the big step,” says Carter.
Carter says the NZ industry appreciates the efforts MPI has made to get this agreement across the line with the Australians.
Tahuna dairy farmer Annabelle Scherer is hoping to continue the legacy her mother has handed down to her: One that represents strong female role models in the New Zealand dairy industry.
An insecticide widely used to control pests in pasture and grain crops will be banned by the end of next year, but farmers warn of a looming gap in treatments to fight native grass grub, which costs the agricultural sector hundreds of millions of dollars each year.
Farming is changing fast, and future-focused leaders are needed in New Zealand’s boardrooms.
"The worst of the worst" is how Richard Kempthorne, the chair of the Nelson Tasman Rural Support Trust, describes the cumulative effects of the two storms that have wreaked havoc across the top of the South Island.
The basis for making great cheese is good milk, says the owner of Banks Peninsula's Barry's Bay Cheese, which was named Champion of Champons Mid-Size, for its traditional Aged Gouda, at this year's NZ Champions of Cheese Awards.
A Chinese business leader says Chinese investors are unfairly viewed as potential security risks in New Zealand.
OPINION: Spare a thought for the arable farmer, squeezed on one side by soft global prices and on the other…
OPINION: Labour leader Chris 'Chippy' Hipkins is carrying on the world-class gaslighting of the nation that he and his cohorts…