Zespri global sales top $5 billion for 2024–25 season amid strong demand
Zespri says global sales for the 2024-25 season topped $5 billion on the back of strong demand and market returns.
Despite the wet weather, kiwifruit vine killing bacteria Psa has surprisingly been less active so far this spring.
Kiwifruit Vine Health (KVH) chief executive Barry O’Neil says while they have seen some Psa it certainly isn’t at the levels of previous years in most orchards.
“Obviously there are some exceptions and we have visited some properties where Psa is showing quite significant presence,” he says.
“But in general we are seeing less than last year and to some extent that’s a surprise because we would have expected the wet spring to support Psa disease symptoms.
“We are wondering whether the mild winter, when we had less frosts, may have resulted in less disease.”
The frost seems to cause damage to the plant, he says. Sometimes a hard frost will crack the vine and Psa takes advantage of the damage.
“That is one possibility,” he says. “The other possibility is that as growers we are becoming much better at managing Psa so it has become more routine for growers to do the right thing in their management of Psa, whether it’s the spray protection being used, how they manage their vines, etc.
“All in all I think at this stage it is a good-news story.
“In previous years we have seen that, after Labour Weekend, if we had a storm we have often seen significant leaf spotting in the green varieties and that sometimes results in flower infection.
“So it is still early days in what could happen this spring and we obviously still want growers to be active with their management of Psa
risk.”
The properties where Psa is showing significant presence are often those more “challenged”.
“It could be very low lying areas, it could be wetter areas; so the properties where it has been bad are where we have seen significant Psa in previous years.”
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.
Nationwide rural wellbeing programme, Farmstrong recently celebrated its tenth birthday at Fieldays with an event attended by ambassador Sam Whitelock, Farmers Mutual Group (FMG), Farmstrong partners, and government Ministers.
Six industry organisations, including DairyNZ and the Dairy Companies Association (DCANZ) have signed an agreement with the Ministry for Primary Industries (MPI) to prepare the country for a potential foot and mouth outbreak.
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