Monthly Archives: July 2017

IT’S NO secret that current wool prices are awful, but the outlook for the fibre has been terrible for many years. For some types of wool, more has been put in storage than has sold in the last nine months, … Continue reading →

TO USE the latest America’s Cup parlance, the New Zealand primary sector is ‘up on its foils’ at present. According to the latest Rabobank survey, farmer confidence and spending intentions jumped to record levels in the second quarter of this … Continue reading →

AS THE curtain comes down on another successful Fieldays, NZ’s farming sector has experienced something uncommon nowadays – a raft of positive media coverage. Positive descriptors such as innovators, economic powerhouse, world-leading food producers, celebrating farming and emerging leaders – … Continue reading →

THE RECENT release of the progress report on the last three years of the Sustainable Dairying Water Accord has sparked all the naysayers of the dairy industry into another series of spiteful attacks on farmers. Granted, the report does highlight … Continue reading →

TRADE AND New Zealand’s position on it has been high on the agenda recently. In mid-March the Government announced a refresh of the country’s trade agenda to increase our exporters’ competitiveness — the primary sector is a key player — … Continue reading →

MANDATORY LABELLING of fruits and vegetables is back on the public agenda. A recent joint survey, by Horticulture NZ and Consumer NZ, shows 70% of consumers want to know where their fruit and veges come from. Only 9% of those … Continue reading →

THE DEBATE about New Zealand’s water quality has become too simplistic, with far too much finger pointing and blame in mostly farming’s direction. It is clear that our water quality is bad enough to require action and, in some instances, … Continue reading →