A big win for wool!
State-owned social housing provider Kainga Ora is switching to wool carpet for its new homes.
OPINION: This old mutt still struggles to understand the absolute disaster that strong wool has become over the past 30 years or so.
He's been around a while now, back when the old Wool Board existed, and seen the many machinations that entity evolved into until it was finally disbanded.
Nothing better illustrates the ongoing, slow death of this once magnificent industry than current prices.
A mate of the Hound's recently received a gross valuation for 38 bales of his crossbred fleece - at an average weight of 181kg each - of just over $6,200, which still had handling fees and other costs to be charged of around 18 cents/kg or around $1,200.
This means he will net around $5,000.
However, the problem is it cost him $16,000 to shear the sheep!
No wonder farmers are turning to self-shedding sheep as we are witnessing the death of crossbred wool sheep farming in this country!
Federated Farmers president Wayne Langford says the 2025 Fieldays has been one of more positive he has attended.
A fundraiser dinner held in conjunction with Fieldays raised over $300,000 for the Rural Support Trust.
Recent results from its 2024 financial year has seen global farm machinery player John Deere record a significant slump in the profits of its agricultural division over the last year, with a 64% drop in the last quarter of the year, compared to that of 2023.
An agribusiness, helping to turn a long-standing animal welfare and waste issue into a high-value protein stream for the dairy and red meat sector, has picked up a top innovation award at Fieldays.
The Fieldays Innovation Award winners have been announced with Auckland’s Ruminant Biotech taking out the Prototype Award.
Following twelve years of litigation, a conclusion could be in sight of Waikato’s controversial Plan Change 1 (PC1).
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