NZ Red Meat Sector Watches US Tariff Decision as Sheepmeat Exports Boom
New Zealand red meat exports are booming but a pending decision in the White House, Washington D.C., could dent sheepmeat earnings.
OPINION: President Trump's tariff wars have torpedoed the US grain belt's biggest market, China, sending many US family farms to the wall.
To make back the lost ground, the US has gone and pinched market share off the Aussies, much to their chagrin.
Indonesia has signed an agreement to import around 2 million tonnes of wheat from the United States, equal to roughly 17% of its annual wheat demand.
Indonesia imports around 10-11.5 million tonnes of wheat per year, and Australia regularly supplies 4-5 million tonnes in strong production seasons.
Aussie Ag website Episode 3 opines, "Our concern is the precedent it sets. If other countries begin buying US agricultural products to avoid tariffs, more of the global grain market could become politically allocated rather than price-driven. Trump is making American farmers great again, but at the expense of our producers."
Agriculture Minister Todd McClay has admitted that a scheme bringing workers from Pacific nations to work on orchards has become too hard to navigate but says changes are coming.
A new app designed in New Zealand aims to help sheep, beef and deer farmers capture, analyse and use body condition score data more effectively.
Canterbury farmer Andy Macfarlane has been appointed to the board of AgriZeroNZ, the public-private partnership designed to accelerate the development and deployment of emissions reduction tools for New Zealand farmers.
For over 50 years Mel Ewers has been supporting the apple sector navigate through compliance and quality assurance issues.
The apple sector is enjoying a bumper harvest season.
Growers and farmers are being encouraged to have an important conversation before the coming season starts: how to prolong the effectiveness of the crop protection tools they rely on.