China’s new beef tariffs expected to favour New Zealand exporters
Additional tariffs introduced by the Chinese Government last month on beef imports should favour New Zealand farmers and exporters.
OPINION: Your canine crusader notes that meat company Silver Fern Farms has undergone quite a refresh over the last few years.
Once renowned as the bastion of dour, gruff, stern and stubborn types - like Robbie Burnside, Jim Pringle, Stewart Barnett and Keith Cooper - a changing of the guard has seen it embrace trends like 'sustainability', 'net carbon zero' and 'regen ag'.
Many of SFF's new executives have come from outside the meat industry, with current boss Simon Limmer bringing a number of his former Zespri colleagues into the fold.
Many of SFF's old guard would be rolling their eyes - and some in their graves - at these changes
It will be interesting to see how things go if meat returns start turning south or the industry hits tough times again and if the new-look 'fruity' SFF still remains a hit with suppliers and shareholders.
New Zealand's diverse cheesemaking talent shone brightly last night as the New Zealand Specialist Cheesemakers Association (NZSCA) crowned the champions of the 2026 New Zealand Cheese Awards.
Tracing has indicated that the source of the first velvetleaf find of the 2025-26 crop season, in Auckland, was likely maize purchased in the Waikato region.
Fish & Game New Zealand has announced its election priorities in its Manifesto 2026.
With the forage maize harvest started in Northland and the Waikato, the Foundation for Arable Research (FAR) is telling growers of later crops, or those further south, to start checking their maize crop maturity about three weeks prior to when they think they will start silage harvesting.
Irrigation NZ is warning that the government's Resource Management Act (RMA) reform risks falling short of its objectives unless water use for food production and water storage infrastructure are clearly recognised in the goals at the top of the new system.
More than five million trays, or 18,000 tonnes, of Zespri’s RubyRed Kiwifruit will soon be available for consumers across 16 markets this season.

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