Jane Smith elected to the Ravensdown board
Ravensdown South Island shareholders have voted Jane Smith to the co-operative board for a three-year term.
Hawke's Bay's loss is Canterbury's gain with the opening of a new state-of-the-art soil testing laboratory for the Ravensdown subsidiary ARL (Analytical Research Laboratories) at Rolleston.
The new facility replaces ARL's previous site in Hawke's Bay, which was destroyed during Cyclone Gabrielle in 2023. For the last two years the lab has been operating from a temporary site in Hastings.
ARL says the new lab is closer to key research partners and core farming communities. Attendees at the recent official opening were told that 70% of its work now comes from the South Island.
Ravensdown general manager of innovation, Jasper van Halder, said the decision to bring the lab south was made only last year.
"We found a location, designed the lab and started building in November 2024.
"That's right. Just 10 months ago, this shiny new facility was an empty shell, and this [upper] floor didn't even exist. Now, we're set up for growth and we're picking up where we left off."
He said the new lab was not just about rebuilding but about "strengthening the systems that support farmers, researchers, and land manager across the country."
The new lab features extensive robotics including five custom-built machines developed by ARL's team.
With seven staff relocated from the original team, the lab employs 30 people and currently processes around 80,000 samples per year, mostly soil. It is expected to be able to double that in soil samples alone while expanding testing capacity for plant, crops, and feed samples.
General manager Suzan Horst said that accurate, timely data was essential.
"It allows farmers to apply nutrients only where needed, which is good for the environment and increases crop production and pasture growth."
Selwyn MP and Associate Minister for Agriculture Nicola Grigg joined Ravensdown chief executive Garry Diack in cutting the cake to declare the new facility officially open.
Grigg called the new lab an exciting addition to Selwyn's agricultural economy.
"Soil science and plant science is the absolute foundation for the success of our agriculture sector.
"You will all have observed that our agricultural exports just about hit 60 billion dollars in the last financial year. That is an extraordinary result given this economy is just clawing its way out of a deeper recession than we went through during the GFC."
Grigg said a new generation of younger farmers understands that offshore markets are deeply interested in the provenance of their food.
"We know this country is only going to get rich by continuing to grow our agricultural exports by continuing to engage in those offshore markets and continuing to have a science-based provenance story.
"As much as we can talk about how wonderful and green our country is and what lovely fresh air we have, it has to be science and evidence-based."
While acknowledging Hawke's Bay's hardship from Cyclone Gabrielle and its resilience in the recovery. Selwyn deputy mayor Malcolm Lyall called the move to Rolleston "a major win for agriculture in our district".
"2.8 billion dollars of GDP is generated out of the Selwyn area per annum. Our agricultural strength as I've mentioned before is massive - dairy, cropping, sheep, beef, horticulture and viticulture."
Ravensdown South Island shareholders have voted Jane Smith to the co-operative board for a three-year term.
Federated Farmers say Environment Canterbury's decision to declare a 'nitrate emergency' is a shameless political stunt that won't help anyone.
Academic and former Fonterra director Nicola Shadbolt has been elected as LIC director.
New Zealand Winegrowers chief executive Philip Gregan has announced his plans to retire in June 2026, marking 43 years of service to the New Zealand wine industry.
It's 100 years for the Hoban family’s Parham Hill Corriedale stud and times continue to change.
Farmers want the Government to scrap controversial freshwater rules that "put river spirits and ideology ahead of practical water use", says Federated Farmers board member Mark Hooper.
OPINION: For years, the ironically named Dr Mike Joy has used his position at Victoria University to wage an activist-style…
OPINION: A mate of yours truly has had an absolute gutsful of the activist group SAFE.