Red meat rebound
The red meat sector is poised for a strong rebound this season, with export receipts forecast to top $10 billion and farm profitability to almost double.
Sheep and beef farmers make up eight of the ten regional supreme winners at this year’s Ballance Farm Environment Awards (BFEAs).
John Ladley, Beef + Lamb New Zealand (B+LNZ) general manager South Island, says the BFEAs are an opportunity for farmers to showcase the work they are doing to minimise their environmental footprint while producing protein for New Zealand’s consumers and export markets.
“As an organisation, we are pleased to support these awards and it’s even more exciting when red meat producers are so well represented in the regional supreme winners,” Ladley says.
“We warmly congratulate these winners who are demonstrating outstanding environmental stewardship and thank them for the fantastic work they are doing both behind the farm gate and within their communities.”
He says 24% of this country’s total native vegetation lies on sheep and beef farmland and many of supreme winners are actively protecting and enhancing the native vegetation and biodiversity on their farms.
“These farmers are running highly productive and profitable businesses while investing significant time and money in conservation work to protect the health of their soils, water and native biodiversity,” says Ladley.
Each supreme winner will host a field day on their farm and Ladley encourages farmers, rural professionals and the wider public to get along to these field days.
“The fieldays are a great opportunity to see how these businesses tick and how these winning farmers successfully strike a balance between profitability, productivity and sustainability.”
Regional Supreme Winners
A technical lab manager for Apata, Phoebe Scherer, has won the Bay of Plenty 2025 Young Grower regional title.
Following heavy rain which caused flooding in parts of Nelson-Tasman and sewerage overflows in Marlborough, the Insurance & Financial Services Ombudsman Scheme (IFSO Scheme) is urging homeowners and tenants to be cautious when cleaning up and to take the right steps to support claims.
Newly elected Federated Farmers meat and wool group chair Richard Dawkins says he will continue the great work done his predecessor Toby Williams.
Hosted by ginger dynamo Te Radar, the Fieldays Innovation Award Winners Event put the spotlight on the agricultural industry's most promising ideas.
According to DairyNZ's latest Econ Tracker update, there has been a rise in the forecast breakeven milk price for the 2025/26 season.
Despite the rain and a liberal coating of mud, engines roared, and the 50th Fieldays Tractor Pull Competition drew crowds of spectators across the four days of the annual event.
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