Modern, science-based farming is the way to achieve a future for New Zealand where dairy farming has a lower environmental footprint, says DairyNZ’s chief executive, Dr Tim Mackle. His comment follows today’s announcement of the Dairy Action for Climate Change at National Fieldays. The Dairy Action for Climate Change lays down the foundation to reduce greenhouse gasses on dairy farms. The plan is spearheaded by DairyNZ, which represents all dairy farmers in New Zealand, and is in partnership with Fonterra. The plan has the support of the Ministry for the Environment and the Ministry for Primary Industries. Dr Mackle says…

The lives of rural New Zealanders are at risk every day because of poor connectivity and inequitable health services, a rural health leader says. Dr Martin London, chair of the Rural Health Alliance of Aotearoa New Zealand (RHAANZ), says government needs to help remove barriers so rural people’s health be considered just as important as those who live in cities. RHAANZ has 47 national member organisations encompassing rural health providers, agribusiness groups, universities, rural community groups and local government. This week it held a series of national rural conferences and meetings in Wellington. Later, London met Health Minister Jonathan Coleman…

DairyNZ is hailing the fact that 97 percent of dairy cattle are now fenced off from waterways, but its latest Water Accord report reveals a significant worsening of reported nutrient leaching in the areas with the biggest new conversions, reports Lynn Grieveson on NewsroomPro DairyNZ described the fencing on waterways as going from Cape Reinga to Bluff 12 times, and Primary Industries Minister Nathan Guy had it going to Chicago and back - but they both agreed the 26,197 kilometres of fencing stopping cattle from getting into streams, rivers and lakes was something to celebrate. And while farmers are congratulating…

John Vosper’s family farm Cleavedale in Matamata went organic in 2003 and two years ago launched the Jersey Girl Organics brand; now the bottled milk is sold North Island-wide and fresh milk is available from two vending machines in Tauranga and Mount Maunganui. The business won the outstanding producer dairy primary award at the recent Outstanding NZ Food Producer Awards. Vosper told Dairy News the win affirms “we are on the right track; we are pleased to win award”. He sees a growing demand for organics in New Zealand. “Customers are increasingly concerned about where their food is coming from…

Primary Industries Minister Nathan Guy says there is a limit to further dairy intensification in New Zealand and growing exports in the future will depend more on increasing the value of products rather than the volume. The number of dairy cattle in New Zealand has surged as farmers were lured by higher prices for dairy products while demand for sheepmeat and wool waned. The latest agricultural statistics for 2016 show New Zealand had 6.5 million dairy cattle, up from just 2.9 million four decades ago. Dairy products are the country's largest commodity export worth $11.3 billion in the year through…

A new Maori-owned new dairy factory is being planned for the Kawerau region, modelled on the first Maori dairy company Miraka, near Taupo. The new plant, to make milk powder, will use geothermal power owned by Putauaki Trust, one of the Maori trusts in the project. Miraka has just such a deal with one of its geothermal power-owning partner trusts. Maori leader Tiaki Hunia, a leader in the development, is chairman of the Putauaki Trust which has dairy farms around Te Teko and Kawerau. One of the farms, Himiona, named after his late father, was a finalist in the Ahuwhenua…

Primary Industries Minister Nathan Guy has signed an Agricultural Cooperation Arrangement with Argentina today, aimed at building closer relationships between the two countries. The Arrangement was signed at the Central District Fieldays in Feilding today with Argentina’s Secretary of Agriculture, Ricardo Negri, during his three day visit to New Zealand. “New Zealand and Argentina have a close relationship, particularly in agricultural sciences,” says Mr Guy. “This new Arrangement creates a framework for greater cooperation between our two countries in the agricultural, livestock and agro-industrial sectors, including opportunities for technical exchanges, joint research, innovation and value addition. “Two-way trade between Argentina…

New Zealand’s sheep and beef farmers have a profound story to tell about where and how our meat is produced, says Mike Lee. New Zealand’s sheep and beef farmers are sitting on a grass-fed gold mine. This is according to Mike Lee, the CEO and founder of New York-based food design and innovation agency Studio Industries, who says this country’s farmers have a great story to tell consumers hungry to know where and how their meat is produced. Visiting this country, Lee says it is about creating the profound out of the mundane – and for NZ sheep and beef…

Fonterra’s Research and Development Centre has developed a new white butter product to meet growing demand from manufacturers in the Middle East market. The New Zealand dairy co-op developed the product alongside its global ingredients business NZMP. Fonterra’s butter is renowned amongst Middle East consumers for its golden appearance thanks to milk from grass fed cows. However, a niche segment of manufacturers prefer white butter as a processing ingredient for their food products. These Middle Eastern food manufacturers have traditionally sourced butter from grain fed cows which produce dairy products with a pale colour, according to Fonterra. The co-op seized…

As New Zealand marks the one-year anniversary of its Free Trade Agreement (FTA) with South Korea, Fonterra Co-operative Group is gearing up to take advantage of huge potential for its dairy products there, particularly cheese. Since the FTA was signed in December 2015, New Zealand has experienced 16 per cent growth in exports of food and beverage products to Korea. The country is New Zealand’s fifth largest cheese market, worth US$50 million (NZ$70m) a year – comparable to New Zealand’s cheese trade to the United States. New Zealand’s new annual duty free quota of 7000 metric tonnes (MT) of cheese…