DairyNZ Levy Vote Underway as Chair Highlights Seven-Fold Return
Voting has started for the renewal of DairyNZ's milksolids levy.
OPINION: Your old mate wonders if the current chair of DairyNZ, Jim van der Poel, is the very same Jim van der Poel who is now canvassing to retain his directorship of the dairy industry-good body.
The Jim van der Poel on the electioneering trail says that farmers shouldn’t be taxed for methane emissions until it is proven that there is actually a problem.
Surely this can’t be the same Jim van der Poel – the methane messiah – who has been beating the He Waka eka Noa (HWEN) drum for the past 3 years and demanding that farmers sign on the dotted line and get with the HWEN programme or be thrown into the ETS fire of doom?
Dairy levy payers have until October 10 to cast their votes. Will they send a similar message – like their sheep and beef farming colleagues – who voted out their chair earlier this year?
Controls on the movement of fruit and vegetables in the Auckland suburb of Mt Roskill have been lifted.
Fonterra farmer shareholders and unit holders are in line for another payment in April.
Farmers are being encouraged to take a closer look at the refrigerants running inside their on-farm systems, as international and domestic pressure continues to build on high global warming potential (GWP) 400-series refrigerants.
As expected, Fonterra has lifted its 2025-26 forecast farmgate milk price mid-point to $9.50/kgMS.
Bovonic says a return on investment study has found its automated mastitis detection technology, QuadSense, is delivering financial, labour, and animal-health benefits on New Zealand dairy farms worth an estimated $29,547 per season.
Pāmu has welcomed ten new apprentices into its 2026 intake, marking the second year of a scheme designed to equip the next generation of farmers with the skills, knowledge, and experience needed for a thriving career in agriculture.

OPINION: Here w go: the election date is set for November 7 and the politicians are out of the gate…
OPINION: ECan data was released a few days ago showing Canterbury farmers have made “giant strides on environmental performance”.