NZFarmer North Island - 28 July 2026 by NZFarmer

INSIDE: Call for diversiﬁcation of export markets

AUGUST 2026 EDITION

Contentious ﬁsheries bill on hold P10

Banks in farmers’ good graces The Federated Farmers Banking survey shows farmers capitalising on strong returns are happier with their bank’s performance. P6

ILLUSTRATION: KWOK YI LEE

NZ Farmer

August 2026

NZ Farmer

News 3

Updated all day at

Farmers in $70b export race There have been 35 years of fairly smooth international sailing, but a forecaster warns of a global economic and geopolitical system that is ‘turning on its axis’. By Aimee Shaw.

ew Zealand agriculture is riding a wave of strong growth and high returns, three years after a period of record low confidence, but a forecaster has warned of the importance of diversification in a world where geopolitical volatility is the new normal. Dr David Skilling, director of Netherlandsbased Landfall Strategy Group, told an audience at the Primary Industries Summit in Auckland that exporters and business owners need to take action as they navigate conflicts, tariffs, supply chain disruption, and changing market and consumer preferences. “We are seeing a rotation away from Western economies as the global engine of growth to emerging markets across the global South,” and that had both implications and opportunities for New Zealand operators, Skilling said. “If you look over the last 15 years or so since the financial crisis, the global economic and geopolitical system has been characterised by a much greater incidence of shocks, of disruptions, economic, domestic, political and geopolitical in nature.” The dynamics weren’t simply a series of episodic, unrelated events, but spoke to a global economic and geopolitical system that was “turning on its axis”, he said. “In general, the last 35 years have been fairly smooth sailing, including for New Zealand, but we are transitioning into a new regime. In the geopolitical space, strategic rivalry between China and Russia and in Western countries is increasing, and that rivalry is not simply a matter of having

Trade Minister Todd McClay is optimistic about the sector and export prospects for the country’s primary industries.

navies or missiles aimed at each other. This is full spectrum strategic rivalry, as opposed to the Cold War. “We are seeing trade sanctions, export restrictions, investment controls, a lot of things that are shaping the operating environment for business.” It was “the new normal”, he said. “We’re shifting from the regime of the last 35 years of what I call the market state, which very broadly speaking was an environment of open markets of expanding trade, an environment where governments retreated from economic activity. “Governments [now] are going to be much more involved, partly motivated by a geopolitical rivalry, partly motivated by concerns around supply chain resilience around critical volume ... [they’ll] organise policy in a way that’s informed by competition. Governments want to secure leading positions. “We’re going to see this playing out in a variety of dimensions, and this model is called state capitalism model. “This is a much more activist, much more volatile environment into which we are moving, and so in terms of what that means for business, proceeding on an assumption that the next impact is going to be in some way similar to the last 20 or 30 years is a signiﬁcant mistake.” New Zealand’s export share is about 26% of gross domestic product (GDP), and it has been sitting around that level during the past 30 years. Skilling called that “disturbing”, and said

he believed the primary sector was vital to changing this. “Our export GDP is the same now as it was in the mid 1970s ... we need to do a better job with our export success. The primary sector to me has a really important role in addressing this challenge. “If we don’t fix this, then all of the aspirations around growing quantity per capita won’t be achieved in the way that we want it to,” Skilling said. Skilling said the industry needed to invest more into innovation, diversifying its markets and “mobilising more domestic capital into the domestic primary sector as part of better equipping itself for growth and increasing global instability”. Despite times changing, Skilling said global demand remained strong and the global economic outlook was “reasonably positive”. With commodity prices at highs, milk prices sitting at $9.75 per kg of milksolids, beef prices reaching record highs confidence and farmer confi dence at the confidence highest confi dence levels on record – having surged from the lows of 2023 – former Federated Farmers president Wayne Langford said the industry was in a good place. Agriculture and Trade Minister Todd McClay

was also optimistic, and said growth and prospects for the sector were strong. Primary exports were expected to hit more than $70 billion by 2030, he said. “This is now a sector on the rise. New Zealand’s food and fibre sector is on an extraordinary trajectory. “The Government’s vision is clear: to position New Zealand as a worldleading high-value producer of premium sustainable food and fibre, and we’re on track to double the value of our exports within the decade. The latest forecast shows we are ahead of schedule, and by 2030 we’re looking at the primary exports exceeding $70b, and every farmer, grower and the processors who innovate and their hard work, are making this possible.” McClay said there was significant opportunity to grow exports, particularly in markets such as India, which New Zealand signed a free-trade agreement with in April. “The New Zealand-India free-trade agreement ... stands as one of the most significant market access breakthroughs in a generation for all of New Zealand, but for the primary sector, this landmark deal opens a door to the market of 1.4 billion people and provides tariff reduction or elimination to 95% current export value.” However, the agreement excludes dairy products such as butter, milk, cheese and yoghurt and India remains an entirely restricted market for New Zealand beef exports, largely for cultural reasons.

Farmers and wider primary industries are optimistic about their prospects. Confidence is sitting at the highest levels on record. KELLY HODEL/ WAIKATO TIMES

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August 2026

From the Editor Contents 03 Diversiﬁcation is crucial

Exports have had a smooth ride but geopolitical volatility is a reason to adapt

06 Farmers and their bank

Relationships are improving, says survey

Fisheries bill delayed Opposition from the sector means the bill won’t return to Parliament before the election

Ballance Farm Environment Award Winners from Southland say it’s important all farmers share their story

Young Farmer Grand Final Southland’s Tom Slee continues family legacy

Funding needed More cash required to extend work battling the root weevil pest

Investment in beef sector Farmers beneﬁting from beef cattle ﬁtted with Halter smart collars linked to satellites

28 Travel

Jump on board and explore Alaska by train

30 Doing things differently

Wine growers adapting to a changing world by altering how they operate

32 Down from the hills

The autumn sheep muster at Ōmārama Station in Waitaki is always a much-anticipated event

Contact us NZ FARMER EDITOR Sonita Chandar 027 446 6221 sonita.chandar@stuff.co.nz DESIGN Kwok Yi Lee, David Gadd Sam Davenport COVER ILLUSTRATION & PHOTO Kwok Yi Lee, Christel Yardley HEAD OF REGIONAL & RURAL MARKETS Kate Boreham 021 279 5361 kate.boreham@stuff.co.nz

A relationship to be nurtured Sonita Chandar Editor

ur farmers operate in a dynamic world and need to change and improve to keep on top of their game to stay proﬁtable. When things are going well in the agriculture sector, farmers do well and when they do well, everyone is happy. It has always been a rollercoaster ride with banks. When things are good, they leave you alone. When the markets or farmgate returns drop, farmers might get a phone call from the bank. That is how some of the older farmers I have spoken with remember it being and they reckon it is probably true even today. In fact, it wasn’t that long ago dairy farming was having its cyclical downturn because of global oversupply and forward stockpiling by countries such as China. I recall writing many a story on farmers getting the hard word or coming under pressure from their bank, leaving them not only seething with anger at the lack of assistance or understanding, but also worried about their livelihoods. But today, the agriculture sector is riding a wave of strong returns for milk and meat to pay down debt. This is reﬂected in the May 2026 Federated Farmers Banking Survey,

which shows farmers are more satisfied with their bank. Farmer confidence in banks is up from 61% in November last year to 69% – the highest since May 2018 – with dairy, and meat and wool farmers recording higher satisfaction than farmers in other sectors. On the back of strong dairy payouts, including a capital redistribution of $2 a share to Fonterra suppliers, combined with record beef and sheep farmgate prices, farmers have paid down debt. Reserve Bank data shows total agricultural lending dropped $1.4 billion to $61.2b in the year to April 2026. The number of farmers feeling pressure from their bank has fallen to its lowest recorded level since 2018 – dropping from 14% to 10% – while interest rates continue to ease. However, this signals there are still plenty of farmers in some sectors under pressure. With strong exports and strong returns, this is to be expected. Again, when things are good, banks are happy. But every farmer worth his or her salt knows that things won’t be rosy all the time. Some sectors, and in particular the dairy sector, are cyclical and always have been. And when there is a downturn for whatever reason, farmers who have paid down debt during this wave and/or diversified their income stream, will be better off and may escape the dreaded

phone call from the bank. But should it happen, be proactive: contact your bank to discuss your situation sooner rather than later. Banks have a range of options that farmers may be able to take advantage of. It is better to be on the front foot than have your bank manager come knocking. And in this crazy volatile world where geopolitics dictate supply and demand, and tensions in the Middle East take the global population on a rollercoaster ride, what happens next for our farmers and in our markets is anyone’s guess. So having a good relationship with the bank can only strengthen a farmer’s position with them.

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August 2026

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Opinion 5

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We need to learn our lessons

We would do well to remember the simple wisdom of former years: At the heart of our pastoral grazing system is the relationship of the soil, the pasture and the animal, writes Doug Edmeades.

have recently revisited two books on the history and development of grasslands in New Zealand. Sir Bruce Levy’s book entitled Grasslands of New Zealand was first published in 1951. The second edition was printed in 1955, and a third edition came out in 1970, the same year in which Percy Smallfield published The Grasslands Revolution in New Zealand. These books cover similar material but reflect the respective backgrounds of the two authors. Smallfield began his career as a farm adviser with the then-Department of Agriculture. He rose through the ranks to eventually become the director-general. In comparison, Levy was more of a scientist and became director of the grasslands division of the Department of Scientific and Industrial Research. Both pioneers stressed the importance of developing and strengthening the link between science and the farmer. Dr C P McMeekan, the then-director of the once-

in the soil.” I need only add that when he mentioned “phosphates” he was, I assume, talking about “superphosphates”, which of course contain sulphur. I fear that in the intervening seven decades we may have lost sight of this wisdom. In our drive to increase production, we have rapidly increased the use of fertiliser nitrogen. This has come at the expense of clover nitrogen. This is a double whammy because not only does clover add free nitrogen to the soil, but it is also a better-quality feed for ruminants. To highlight the point, the marginal cost of a kilogram of clover/ ryegrass dry matter is about 4 cents to 5c; ryegrass feed with bagged nitrogen costs about 10c-12c. It is currently one of pastoral farming’s glorious ironies that A bull and his cows munch down on New Zealand pasture. TREVOR READ the nitrogen cap, implemented for environmental reasons, famous Ruakura Agricultural Research the three components of will potentially have economic Centre, expressed this simple axiom thus: our unique year-round beneﬁts as farmers relearn Science is of no use until it is applied pastoral grazing system: the importance of clover in our on-farm. the soil, the pasture and the pastoral system. I must admit I think I got a doubleanimal. And a component of that learning dose of this particular gene because, as Levy expressed it best in the must include optimising the fertility Soil scientist my career developed, I became more second edition (1955) of his of our soils to feed the clover, Doug Edmeades interested in what was happening on-farm book: “The secret lies in the noting that clover has a higher and less interested in what was happening clover and the minerals to give bulky and requirement for all of those 16 nutrients in the laboratory. healthy clover growth – phosphates, lime, relative to grasses. Ironically, given this background, this potash, molybdenum etc. Thus, we get the Given their central importance to our shift in focus got me into deep trouble most vital product of all, namely nitrogen, pastoral sector, both of these pioneering with the science managers of that time, manufactured in the root nodules of the books should be compulsory reading for who had not learned the importance of clover and elaborated by the grazing any would-be New Zealand farmer. this simple truth and, indeed, turned their animals into animal protein and those George Santayana, the Spanish-born backs on science whenever there was waste products (dung and urine) that American philosopher, offered this sage a hint of controversy or, worse still, the contain the waste nitrogen and minerals advice, which I hope will be heeded: smell of legal action. for again feeding the sward and thus “Those who cannot remember the past are Both Levy and Smallﬁeld emphasised continuing the cycle of fertility buildup condemned to repeat it.”

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August 2026

6 News

Satisfaction on the rise The recent Federated Farmers Banking Survey shows farmers are enjoying a better relationship with their bank. By Sonita Chandar.

ata from the latest Federated Farmers Banking Survey and Reserve Bank of New Zealand (RBNZ) shows many farmers are capitalising on strong returns for milk and meat to pay down debt. This is the 25th Federated Farmers Banking Survey, which has been running since May 2015. It covers farmer debt, mortgages, overdrafts, interest rates, budgeting and bank relationships (including satisfaction, communication, pressure and lending conditions). The survey received 537 responses. The May 2026 survey shows the most positive results in the Federated Farmers Banking Survey since the period before the RBNZ capital review. Satisfaction, communication and debt structuring have all improved substantially since November last year and undue pressure has fallen to its lowest recorded level since 2018, while interest rates continue to ease. Reserve Bank data shows that total agricultural lending dropped $1.4 billion to $61.2b in the year to April 2026. “Strong dairy payouts, including a capital redistribution of $2 per share to Fonterra suppliers, combined with record beef and sheep farmgate prices, have likely allowed farmers to meaningfully reduce loan principal,” Federated Farmers banking spokesperson Mark Hooper said. Data also shows farmer confidence in banks is up from 61% in November last year to 69% – the highest since May 2018 – with dairy, and meat and wool farmers recording higher satisfaction. However, this remains well below the 80% recorded in earlier surveys, reflecting a structural shift in the farmer-bank relationship that favourable economic conditions alone have not reversed. The improvement is broad-based across banks. Westpac records the most significant turnaround, with satisfaction rising to 80% and dissatisfaction falling from 21% to 14%. Rabobank remains the most consistently well-rated bank at 78%. About 15% of farmers do not have a mortgage and data shows they are significantly less satisfied with their banks compared to mortgage holders. Farmer comments reflect both ends of the satisfaction spectrum and trace back to the individual manager rather than the institution. One respondent noted simply: “Have had the same manager for over twenty years. Awesome!!!” Another described a manager who worked through interest rates with them following a cyclone: “Working with [bank] has been excellent, they have gone out of their way to support us and our business. We have had a tough 3yrs, but [bank] have been right beside us.” However, another had banked with their same institution for 20 years without a visit in a decade and was told to take the online rate or leave. The arable sector’s declining satisfaction is evident in the specific texture of their comments. One farmer reported being told their sector was a sunset industry, with small operators being marginalised. That view, whether or not it reflects official bank policy, captures the sense among some arable and smaller farmers that their business is no longer

Right: The latest Federated Farmers Banking Survey shows that Kiwi farmers are more satisfied with their bank, have a better relationship with it and are facing less pressure. Below: Rabobank remains the most consistently well-rated bank at 78%. CHRISTEL YARDLEY/WAIKATO TIMES

considered worth the relationship effort. Only 10% of farmers now feel under pressure from banks, down from 14%. The improvement is broad-based across sectors and banks. This is driven by lower interest rates and stronger commodity returns, reducing the ﬁnancial stress that typically prompts banks to apply pressure. ANZ and Rabobank had the lowest at 7% and BNZ the highest at 16%. ASB recorded the largest reduction, falling from 19% to 10%. Varied lending criteria and rates have also led to some banks applying more pressure on farmers. Dairy, meat and wool farmers broadly reﬂect the pattern of undue pressure, with 17-18% reporting less pressure and 7% more pressure. Arable farmers were once again the exception, with 11% reporting being under more pressure than they were six months ago. One farmer noted that pressure has been taken off due to higher prices being paid. Another described their bank as very supportive to date, given that this is the most challenging season they have experienced in the past 40 years.

Federated Farmers banking spokesperson Mark Hooper.

However, the contrast with other farmers is stark and captures how severe the pressure experience has been for some. One farmer reported being moved to the credit risk department and pushed towards forced asset sales despite no change in their financial position. Another described heavy pressure despite strong equity: “Bank put way more pressure on us up until this year … we have good equity; never experienced anything like it before … left a very sour taste in our mouth.” Other key survey results tracking the farmer-banker relationship continue an upward trend. The survey shows banks have lifted their game on the communication front, with 69% reporting better communication with their bank, up from 61% in November last year. Westpac had a standout result of 86%, up from 58%. Farm mortgages have fallen and the number of respondents with mortgages under $2 million has risen to 41%, up from 38% six months earlier. Average mortgages for sharemilkers and for dairy and meat and wool farms all fell significantly signifi cantly between the November 2025 and May 2026 surveys. The average mortgage has fallen from $4.92m to $4.11m as dairy farmers continue to pay down debt. Overdrafts are up $312,000 $373,000, from $312 ,000 to $373 ,000, reflects which refl ects seasonal drawdown. The outlier is arable farms. Soft commodity prices, elevated debt and tighter

August 2026

NZ Farmer

News 7

Updated all day at

remainder of 2026 and demand will be a key point as countries navigate the ﬂowon impacts of the conﬂict in the Middle East. With shipping through the Strait of Hormuz remaining unstable, higher energy prices and the availability of products such as fertiliser, plastic and packaging as well as general goods, could impact household incomes, leading to a decrease in demand.

Above: Some sectors reported high satisfaction, including dairy farmers who have paid off nearly $5b in debt as a result of higher returns.

KELLY HODEL/WAIKATO TIMES

Strong wool prices have lifted farm revenue by an estimated $200 million a year.

Arable farmers were once again the exception, with 11% reporting increased pressure from their bank compared with six months ago.

lending set this sector apart in terms of satisfaction, pressure and debt levels. “That sector is in near-crisis mode, with weak grain prices, rising costs, tough growing conditions and competition from lower cost imports,” Hooper said. “The arable farm median mortgage of $3.5m is the highest of all farm types.” The average mortgage rate was 5.49%, down from 5.78% in the November survey, and two out of five respondents to the May survey have more than 75% of their loans on floating rates. “One finding that all banks should ponder: the single most consistent theme across more than 200 general comments added by farmers was that a knowledgeable, available bank manager outweighs factors such as loan rate competitiveness,” Hooper said. “Where communication from banks

works, it tends to reflect a specific person rather than the bank system. Where it fails, the cause is usually the same. “One farmer’s comment states it plainly: ‘Never hear from our bank; don’t even know who our rural bank manager is. That’s concerning and disappointing if we need them’.” The survey results show most of the farming sector in a strong income position, with dairy, beef, lamb and wool all benefiting from elevated prices and falling interest rates. Arable farming is the clear exception, facing weak grain prices and rising costs Dairy Fonterra’s final forecast for the 2025/26 season is $9.70/kgMS, within a narrowed range of $9.60 to $9.80. This is the secondhighest milk price on record, behind only

the $10.16/kgMS paid in 2024/25. Due to declining prices at recent Global Dairy Trade auctions, Fonterra has lowered the 2026/27 season at $9.25/kgMS but this still signals a third consecutive season of historically strong returns. Fonterra’s April 2026 sale of its Mainland consumer business returned $3.2b to shareholders via a $2-a-share capital payment, with a further special dividend of 14 to 18 cents per share expected. Dairy sector debt has fallen by almost $5b since its 2018 peak to about $36b and debt per kgMS has dropped from $22 to $18.50. It is expected to decline further toward $16.50 as sale proceeds flow through, reflecting both stronger profitability and bank-driven repayment. At an average payout of about $400,000 for farmer shareholders, the Fonterra dividend had largely been used to pay off debt, though some farmers had also used it to reinvest on farm and in new technology. Red meat Farmgate beef prices reached record highs early this year because of global supply shortages and strong US demand, and remain elevated despite a slight easing. Lamb and sheep returns have also improved year-on-year, supporting a broader recovery in red meat farm incomes. The tight global beef supply is expected to support elevated beef prices for the

Wool For the first time in a decade, strong wool prices have roughly doubled to about $5 to $7/kg by mid-2026, lifting farm revenue by an estimated $200m a year. This has shifted wool from often loss-making to roughly breakeven, although still below levels needed for strong profitability (and secondary to meat income). Tightening supply and growing demand for higher value uses suggest a more structural than cyclical improvement. Arable Arable farming has been under significant pressure, with Federated Farmers describing the sector as near crisis on the back of rising costs, weak grain prices and competition from lower-cost imports. The January 2026 Farm Confidence Survey reflects this, with arable the only sector reporting declining profit expectations and more farmers expecting to increase debt. However, more recent indicators suggest a modest improvement in outlook, with easing cost pressures and improved returns. Interest rates and input costs The OCR has fallen sharply from its 5.50% mid-2024 peak to 2.25% by May 2026, although the RBNZ has signalled the next moves may be upward as global energydriven inflation pressures build. Rising input costs – particularly diesel and fertiliser – are adding to margin pressure, highlighting the advantage for farmers who used lower rates to reduce debt and to strengthen their balance sheets. With volatile markets and geopolitical tensions around the globe, reducing their debt burden along with having a better relationship with their bank, will help farmers navigate headwinds in the market and payouts and ride out the downturns.

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August 2026

8 Opinion The ﬁring of a missile into the Paciﬁc shows the risks of export reliance on China and why the India free-trade agreement is so needed, argues Gordon Stuart.

olatility, uncertainty, complexity, ambiguity and Trump (VUCAT) have forced us all to be nimble so we can survive and thrive. On a positive note, our economy is looking up. For the last three months to May 2026, merchandise exports exceeded imports by nearly $3 billion on the back of a weaker New Zealand dollar and increased export earnings from dairy, meat, fruit and precious metals. Merchandise exports rose 9.1% during the 12 months ended May 2026 compared with the prior year. Little wonder we are seeing a rural-urban growth divide. China, Australia, the United States, Japan and South Korea are our top five merchandise export destinations and together comprise 58% of total goods exports in the year to May this year, while our top 20 destinations total 86%. Beyond China, we have a reasonably diversified export base that offers lots of opportunities. However, that concentration in China is a huge risk in a world where geopolitical and geostrategic considerations are at the forefront. China’s recent missile launch into the South Pacific was a reminder of this. History teaches us exporting is not for the faint-hearted. Britain’s 1973 entry into the European Economic Community (EEC) forced New Zealand to end its economic reliance on the United Kingdom. The loss of guaranteed, tariff-free access for primary exports caused export earnings to plunge, contributed to economic pain, and prompted a rapid diversification into Asian and Middle Eastern markets. Current geopolitical flare-ups in the Middle East and US-China relations continue to create volatility across global financial markets, reshaping supply chains and inflating energy prices and other input costs such as fertiliser. Continually spreading our risk remains important. Markowitz revolutionised finance with his Modern Portfolio Theory. His findings were that diversification reduces risk and increases the resilience of an investment portfolio. Hence, widening our export base acts like a pyramid,

Export diversiﬁcation badly needed Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi with New Zealand Prime Minister Christopher Luxon. The free-trade agreement between both countries is “a great start”. BRUCE MACKAY/THE POST

“

We are too reliant on the big three, which account for 49% of exports. China, in particular, accounts for approximately 24% of exports, meaning we are more diamond-shaped than pyramid-shaped.

China’s long-range ballistic missile launch from a nuclear-powered submarine in the South Pacific on July 6 serves as a warning, writes Stuart. AP

anchoring our base against the world’s economy than “outside”. Under the winds of change. agreement, 57% of New Zealand’s exports Even now, we are too reliant on the big became duty-free immediately upon three, which account for 49% of exports. signing, a figure that will rise to 82% once China, in particular, accounts for about fully phased in, according to the Beehive. 24% of exports, meaning we are more Tariffs were slashed or removed on diamond-shaped than pyramidapples (50% cut), kiwifruit, mānuka shaped, with a narrow base honey and timber, to name just a and are easier to topple – or few sectors. There is already perhaps we’re middlemedia chatter that apple aged, with a weaker core, exports are up. struggling to see our Through the IPL feet. and Test cricket, New As an aside, as a Zealand has some wellrugby tragic, I am sad developed contacts and to say New Zealand relationships with India. Rugby is in a similar It is time to build on them position, having and use them to promote ignored its grassroots our wares. base for too long. The Here is one example of pyramid is no longer there. the scale of the opportunity. That is why the free-trade John Wright was head coach of agreement with India is great the Indian national cricket team Business adviser news for New Zealand. India is from 2000 to 2005, working Gordon Stuart, not in our top 20 merchandise with greats such as Tendulkar, from financial export destinations and sits and made history as India’s first service company behind small markets such foreign coach. He later guided Chaperon, says the the Mumbai Indians to their first as Vietnam at No 18 and the trade agreement Philippines at No 20. IPL title in 2013. I understand with India is vital for he is now a talent scout for the India is the world’s most diversification. populous nation and the fourthMumbai Indians. Trust is earned. largest economy, on track to be The Mumbai Indians are the third-largest behind the US and China. owned by the Indian conglomerate The IMF and World Bank both forecast Reliance Industries. The franchise’s Indian GDP to grow by about 6.5% this primary promoters and key figures are year. India provides an opportunity to billionaire businessman Mukesh Ambani widen the pyramid and diversify away and his wife, philanthropist Nita Ambani. from dairy. Reliance Industries is India’s largest New Zealand and India signed a freeprivate conglomerate. It owns businesses trade agreement on April 27 this year, spanning energy, telecommunications, eliminating or reducing tariffs on 95% retail, digital platforms, mass media and of New Zealand’s exports to India. New financial services. Zealand gave away little, given that we A quick look at Reliance Retail’s website don’t tariff products into the country. reveals it is ranked among the fastestIndia is currently a billion-dollar goods growing retailers in the world. It is in the export market, accounting for a bit over 1% top five global retailers by store count of New Zealand’s total goods exports, but and the top 30 by revenue. It is the largest with huge upside. While major gains were retailer in India with the widest reach. secured for forestry, wool and sheepmeat, Reliance Retail has 387 million core dairy products remain largely registered customers buying across excluded from tariff concessions. all its formats, with nearly 1.93 billion Like all commercial agreements, transactions in FY26. nothing is perfect, but it is a great start. If New Zealand can tap even a small part I’d rather be “inside” the country that is of this opportunity, India will be huge. on track to be the world’s third-largest Let’s go for it.

August 2026

NZ Farmer

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deliver quality protein to families who need it most. It's a simple idea that creates beneﬁts both on farm and in our communities.” "Every donation helps us get quality food to families who need it most. We're grateful to Elanco, the veterinary clinics involved and the farmers who support the campaign through Prolaject. Together, we're making a real difference in communities across New Zealand, and we're thrilled to see the partnership return for a second year,”

Buy one pack.

says Zellara Holden, General Manager, Meet the Need. Of course, Prolaject's community impact is only part of the story. Available as injectable Vitamin B12 and Vitamin B12 with selenium supplements, Prolaject supports herd health through the treatment and control of cobalt and selenium deﬁciency. Often used around key periods such as mating and calving/ lambing, Prolaject helps ensure animals have access to these two key

Disclaimer: *For every pack of Prolaject™ purchased between 6 July and 30 September 2026. Elanco will donate $5 to Meet the Need – up to $50,000. Visit www.farmanimal. elanco.com/nz for full terms and conditions. Prolaject™ is registered under the ACVM Act 1997 No. A005850; A006170; A006536; A006903. Prolaject™ is a registered trademark of Elanco. Elanco and the diagonal bar logo are trademarks of Elanco or its affiliates. Elanco New Zealand, 106 Wiri Station Road, Manukau, Auckland 2104. www.farmanimal.elanco.com/nz 0800 446 121. © 2026 Elanco. PM-NZ-26-0154.

Give two meals.

With every pack of Prolaject purchased, Elanco will donate $5 to Meet the Need – up to $50,000, helping provide 20,000 meals for Kiwi families this winter.*

*For every pack of Prolaject™ purchased between 6 July and 30 September 2026. Elanco will donate $5 to Meet the Need – up to $50,000. Visit www.farmanimal.elanco.com/nz for full terms and conditions. Prolaject™ is registered under the ACVM Act 1997 No. A005850; A006170; A006536; A006903. Prolaject™ is a registered trademark of Elanco. Elanco and

the diagonal bar logo are trademarks of Elanco or its affiliates. Elanco New Zealand, 106 Wiri Station Road, Manukau, Auckland 2104. www.farmanimal.elanco.com/nz | 0800 446 121. © 2026 Elanco. PM-NZ-26-0149.

NZ Farmer

August 2026

10 News

Jones defers ﬁsheries battle: ‘not a lot of harmony’ Oceans and Fisheries Minister Shane Jones has attacked an “ill-informed” recreational lobby.

Politics

Andrea Vance

hane Jones’ controversial fisheries reforms have been pushed to November’s election, with the oceans and fisheries minister telling MPs the highly contested bill needs more work and suggesting voters may ultimately decide its fate. Appearing before Parliament’s primary production committee in June, Jones confirmed he had written to the committee chairperson seeking an extension to the bill’s consideration, citing widespread opposition from across the fisheries sector. The delay means one of the Government’s most contentious reforms won’t return to Parliament before the election. Jones acknowledged there was “a tremendous amount of white water” around the legislation and “not a lot of harmony” among stakeholders. Commercial fishers receive exclusive access to a publicly owned resource. “I think if we can take more time and improve the bill, probably better for the sector,” he said. “It’s a highly contested space, and maybe the whole election process will enable each party to campaign on what they think is important about fisheries and, after the next election, let’s wait and see where the chips fall.” Jones said opposition to the bill extended across environmental groups,

recreational fishers and some Māori interests, with younger iwi leaders increasingly advocating stronger sustainability measures and restrictions on some fishing practices. “If I’m going to take responsibility for it, I am the author of the bill – and if it can be improved by some more panel beating, then I’m up for that,” he said. The hearing also exposed sharper edges in Jones’ relationship with recreational fishing groups, after he was asked whether he would meet stakeholders seeking input into the reforms. He pointed to a previous meeting that did not proceed, saying some representatives had been “grossly discourteous and disrespectful” to NZ First MP Jenny Marcroft, and warned: “I would not be willing to meet with people if that was the level of their disrespect … if that’s the way they treated her, you’ll get a different response if you talk to me like that.” Pressed further on how he would engage with the sector, Jones said that he himself was a recreational fisherman. “I’m a recreational fisherman ... I talk with myself.” The Government was proposing sweeping changes to the Fisheries Act, aimed at making the industry more efficient, profitable and quicker to respond to changes in fish stocks. He previously called the reforms a “once-in-a-generation” overhaul of fishing rules.

MARTIN DE RUYTER/STUFF

“

I’m a recreational fisherman ... I talk with myself. Shane Jones Oceans and fisheries minister However, earlier this year Jones was forced to back down on a contentious plan to scrap most minimum size limits for commercial fishers, effectively allowing them to land and sell baby fish, including snapper and tarakihi. Later in the hearing, Jones escalated his criticism of recreational fishing groups while defending his broader fisheries agenda, telling MPs he has “absolutely no granular knowledge” of their catches and accusing sector leaders of running a “medieval crusade” against commercial operators. He contrasted reporting requirements between commercial and recreational fishing, arguing the latter was insufficiently monitored. “I can tell you to the nth degree what the commercial sector catches in their quota, because they have to report every single kilo. But I cannot tell you what the recreational takers are.” Jones also dismissed recreational fishing leadership as “a very

ill-informed group” and said they “resent any regulation of their activities”. The remarks came during discussion of wider fisheries policy settings, including sustainability measures and the future balance between wild catch and aquaculture. Jones argued that if commercial wild catch was reduced, the country would need to rely more heavily on imported or farmed seafood. “If we are going to reduce the wild catch of a commercial nature, then where’s the protein going to come from?” he said. He pointed to imported fish products, arguing New Zealand would risk replacing high-quality domestic seafood with lower-standard overseas alternatives. Jones also signalled a longer-term policy shift, saying his party would push for a new marine farming framework if returned to government. “We will be pushing for a brand new marine farming act that is dedicated to accelerating fish farming in New Zealand,” he said. He argued that global trends were moving toward reduced wild catch fisheries and greater reliance on aquaculture, and warned that recreational fishers would eventually find themselves at odds with environmental advocates. “At the moment they think they are joined at the hip with the Greenies,” he said. “They are sadly mistaken.”

August 2026

NZ Farmer

News 11

Updated all day at

Free-range farms on tenterhooks Bird flu

Amber Allott

he arrival of a lethal bird flu strain could mean big changes for Kiwi free-range farms – and some even fear it could spell the end for their operations. An extremely contagious strain of highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI), or bird flu, known as H5N1, was detected in New Zealand for the first time last month. On July 15, Minister for Biosecurity Andrew Hoggard said the disease was confirmed in a brown skua (seabird) found at Petone Beach in Wellington. The Department of Conservation was taking steps to mitigate any impact on wildlife, including vaccinating some of our most endangered birds, but said there was little that could be done to stop it from reaching New Zealand. In other countries, including the United Kingdom, it has also had a serious impact on the commercial poultry sector. Last year, an England-wide housing order was introduced, meaning poultry had to be kept inside. The Ministry for Primary Industries (MPI) was not yet considering doing the same, but industry bodies were making plans to support free-range farms if outbreaks start. Natalie Field, who owns Benzie Free Range Eggs in West Eyreton, feared an outbreak would spell the end for her farm. “We cannot feasibly prevent a wild bird from pooping in our farm,” she said. “We’re free range … [We] pride ourselves on having great big grass areas for the birds to forage in.”

Natalie Field and Will Crozier run Benzie Free Range Eggs, and fear what an outbreak would mean for their flock.

So far, it had largely been business as usual, and Field said she was trying not to stress too much about something out of her control. “Obviously, your basic protocols, like no foreign vehicles in the farm and clean boots only and all of that, but at the end of the day, all it takes is one wild bird to fly over.” She had spoken to colleagues overseas who told her the disease tended to come “in waves”, hitting some farms again after they had repopulated. But eggs were her family’s whole livelihood, and with a young daughter, she’d be tempted to find something more stable. Keeping her flock indoors to protect them would mean cutting back on numbers to the point it would no longer

be economical, she said. “This is how we live, that’s how I pay my mortgage ... It’s going to be incredibly devastating if we lose the whole lot, because I’ll just have to either start from scratch, or ﬁnd something new to do.” Fiona MacMillan, executive director of both the Poultry Industry Association of New Zealand (PIANZ) and the Egg Producers Federation (EPF), said free-range farms in areas with outbreaks would need to consider whether to bring their birds inside “for their own welfare”. “The intention is for free-range ﬂocks to only be inside on a temporary basis and only when needed.” PIANZ had a plan “ready to go” to let the public know if chickens had been

temporarily housed, which included stickers to be placed on all egg and meat chicken packaging. But MacMillan acknowledged it would be harder for some farmers than others. In the egg world specifically, housing systems varied widely. While some had suitable barns, others used small sheds or mobile range systems only designed to house birds at night. This wouldn’t be New Zealand’s first time responding to bird flu. However, unlike 2024, when an outbreak of the H7N6 strain was successfully eradicated, H5N1 would be different. “We know it has the potential to cause significant disruption, as it has in other countries, which is why producers and farmers are doing everything they can now to ensure everyone is as prepared as they can be, to minimise any future outbreak and potential spread.” Preparation had been ongoing for some time, and the industry had kept up to date with the latest science from around the world. PIANZ had also developed biosecurity guidance for commercial producers on its website. For now, MacMillan said farmers should stay “watchful”. “ ... we need to be vigilant for any signs of illness in our birds.” MPI’s chief veterinary officer Dr Mary van Andel said it was not its intention to use its Biosecurity Act powers to make any mandatory housing orders. However, it was important for farmers and backyard bird owners to get good biosecurity practices in place now. “While we can’t prevent wild birds bringing this virus here, we can work together to limit its impact.”

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NZ Farmer

August 2026

12 Regional Round-up Mark Lieshout, left, Kate Roberts holding baby Lucy Lieshout, Tony Roberts, Beauden Lieshout and Michelle Roberts. PHOTOS: ALAN GIBSON/NZ FARM ENVIRONMENT TRUST

Land, stock, staff and community After 29 years in dairying, Michelle and Tony Roberts were ready for a change, and keen to include deer farming. By Tony Benny.

allance Farm Environment Award winners Michelle and Tony Roberts say it’s important to tell the real story of farmers like them, caring for their land, their people and animals and being part of the community. “Farmers in general are perhaps not really good at getting out there and talking about themselves and about their farms and what they do. And if we leave that space empty, other people might ﬁll it with a different narrative that isn’t always accurate,” Michelle said. The Southland couple said that was part of their motivation for entering the award, which recognises their success in building a thriving farming business while also protecting and improving their local environment. They farm two neighbouring properties, a total of 269 hectares, at Merino Downs, about 50 kilometres north of Gore. A total of 140ha is devoted to deer, with 667 reds and 635 fallow, and the remaining land to grazing dairy heifers. When they bought the rolling hill country farms in 2017, the Roberts made protecting waterways and wetlands a priority. “The property itself lent itself to having those areas fenced off. We farm the good country and leave the other

Tony Roberts had experience farming deer with his father back in Taranaki three decades ago.

The Roberts’ farm covers two properties and supports herds of deer and dairy cows.

Ballance Farm Environment Awards Southland regional co-ordinator Pip Standish with Michelle and Tony Roberts at the awards night.

stuff alone to regenerate or to protect the waterways,” Michelle said. “It seemed quite natural to farm in that way and to remove those areas from the productive grazing land. We’ve always had a little bit of an environmental bent.” Originally from Taranaki, the couple were sharemilking on a 160-cow farm there but decided to move south to West Otago in 1995 to pursue their goal of

farm ownership. “We had a goal to own a farm by the time I was 30, and we felt the only real way to do that was to come south because of the opportunities and the growth that was happening at that time. And once we got down here, we realised that it was the best move we’ve made,” Tony said. “We had a very clear vision that if we did well in sharemilking, we would come out the other side with farm ownership, and we did that in a very short period of time.” But after 29 years of dairy farming, they were ready for a change, and Tony was keen to return to deer farming – something he and his father had tried on a small scale back in Taranaki. “It was a passion, and I was quite a keen hunter as well. And while we owned a dairy farm in Southland, we actually had a few deer running around, so that’s where it sort of stemmed from.” They now run a red deer velveting herd with associated breeding hinds, as well as fallow stags for trophy hunters and breeding fallow hinds. On their other farm, they graze dairy heifers on contract, using the skills they learnt as dairy farmers. “We have a fair

idea of what’s right and wrong, and it works very well within our system. Those young heifers leave a lighter footprint on the farm over winter, and then we can increase the stocking rate in summer when we have a surplus of grass.” Since they owned their ﬁrst farm in Southland, the Roberts have made environmental stewardship a priority. “One of the ﬁrst things we did was riparian planting, and the local primary school came out on a bus and planted some plants, and I suppose we’ve just continued to do that all the way through,” Michelle said. “We now know more about the way water travels across our land and what we can do to mitigate any environmental impact, whether it be around fertiliser application, riparian planting or the class of stock we put on our land.” Their contribution to the environment was recognised with the awarding of the Gordon Stephenson Trophy, and for the next 12 months the Roberts will serve as National Ambassadors for Sustainable Farming and Growing. “I think it’s important that things like the Ballance Farm Environment Awards put a really positive story out there for others to see for what it is. It’s just people caring for their land, caring for their animals and being part of a rural community. There’s an awful lot of us, but we’re really not very good at talking about it,” Michelle said.

August 2026

NZ Farmer

Regional Round-up 13

Updated all day at

Pour and Explore fest hits its stride Event

Milly Matthews Massey University student journalist

typical Martinborough winter is normally a quiet time before spring, but a new month-long August festival aims to give the region a boost of vitality and creativity. The Martinborough Business Association has created Pour and Explore, which will feature a range of events to attract people to the South Wairarapa town. “The whole idea is to showcase the creative talents and businesses here, whether in food and wine, retail, hospitality, accommodation, art or the great outdoors,” the Martinborough Business Association’s Conor Kershaw said. Across the month, Martinborough will host more than 70 events – almost double the number featured in last year’s pilot festival. From the festival’s opening day on August 1, the schedule is packed with activities, including cooking classes, paper-lampshade making and a superhero-themed launch party in the evening for adults. Marketing manager Lily Richmond said the list kept going from there. “We have events where people can go and learn all about how to blend their own olive oil. There are cooking masterclasses on how to make a great set of canapes for an event or something that you might be hosting yourself. “We even have the Tora Coastal Walk. They are opening up for a very small group for one day. It’s unheard of.” Pour and Explore will also include many wine-tasting sessions hosted by local vineyards, including Ata Rangi, Palliser Estate, The Runholder, Poppies, Tiwaiwaka and Colombo. Richmond said there would be many musical events, too. “We’ve got Sam Auger. He’s a local musician and he’s doing some really intimate musical sessions. We’ve got the very well-known The Noodles and

Above: Pour and Explore Martinborough Festival kicked off this month. Craggy Range is hosting several events during the month-long celebration. Left: The festival features arts and crafts activities such as Shibori stitching at Thunderpants.

we’ve got a band called Drive playing throughout the month.” Although the festival is geared towards an adult audience, there will be activities for all ages, such as facepainting and a craft market. Richmond said they were aiming for a “positive, upbeat, carnival atmosphere”. “I think what makes it special is that it’s really taking the essence and creativity of

Southland’s Tom Slee takes out grand ﬁnal Young Farmer nationals

Southland farmer has cemented a family legacy by coming out on top after pitting his skills against the best in the country. Last month, Tom Slee, who works as a contract milker on the family farm in Blackmount, near Tuatapere, was named the 2026 FMG Young Farmer of the Year – an accolade his father and uncle had previously won. Tom’s father, Richard Slee, won the national title in 1999, while his uncle, Simon Hopcroft, was named the 2004 champion. The 29-year-old was one of seven other regional champions to vie for the title at the grand ﬁnal event, which wrapped up in New Plymouth on July 4. Slee said taking out the top spot, after competing across a variety of challenges, meant a lot to him, along with being able to represent the Otago Southland region. Despite the 1400-kilometre trip to get to New Plymouth, Slee had a 60-strong support crew on hand to cheer him on from the sidelines. Across the three-day competition, the grand ﬁnalists’ agricultural knowledge

was put to the test with a range of practical modules and interviews as well as public speaking. As part of his win, Slee secured a prize haul worth more than $90,000, but he only had thoughts of home in terms of his immediate plans. “It’s straight back to the farm, we’ve got calving to do,” Slee said. “I love being out on the land with the cows and sheep, so hopefully I can just keep doing that.” New Zealand Young Farmers chief executive Cheyne Gillooly said Slee impressed judges throughout the competition with his broad set of skills. “It’s incredibly exciting to see the title go to Tom, someone who is not only an exceptional farmer, but also a strong ambassador for the next generation of people working in the sector,” Gillooly said. She said the incredibly high standard of the competition and the “talent, leadership and commitment” shown by the young farmers gave her a lot of confidence in the future of the sector. Runner-up to Slee in the grand final was Jack Taggart, from Aorangi, followed by Cam Clayton, from Waikato Bay of Plenty, who finished third.

the community, bringing that all together and getting a whole community behind it. “You know, it’s not just about getting visitors from out of town, it’s not just getting people over from Wellington. “It’s also about engaging with Wairarapa as a whole and getting them to explore, and our Martinborough locals, our businesses, getting behind it and supporting it.”

Southland farmer Tom Slee has been crowned this year’s FMG Young Farmer of the Year.

But for out-of-towners looking to experience the event, Richmond advised getting in sooner rather than later. “I wouldn’t delay in booking if there’s something that you are keen to participate in, because things sold out last year. There’s also some great accommodation offers available for people who might want to make a weekend of it and come visit the region.” South Wairarapa mayor Dame Fran Wilde said it’s important to keep visitors coming year-round. “These sorts of festivals are critical to our future as a visitor destination. The trick is to get people to stay one night or more and do other activities while they are here.” South Wairarapa District Council gave Pour and Explore an economic development grant. “This and Featherston Booktown and the Greytown mid-winter Christmas Festival are all in the shoulder season of winter and that’s why we funded them from our economic development fund this year.”

NZ Farmer

August 2026

14 Science and Research

Farms need a buddy system Opinion

Wairarapa-based farmer and Safer Farms ambassador Lindy Nelson won the Leadership category at the 2026 New Zealand Workplace Health and Safety Awards in Auckland. She chaired Safer Farms from 2020 to 2026, being instrumental in the formation of its Farm Without Harm scheme. This sector-wide plan was designed with farmers and the industry and supported by ACC.

he man who became my husband saved my life four hours after I met him. We were on a dive charter. I was confident, prepared and certain I had everything under control. I had the remains of a head cold, but I told myself I was fine. I had extra weight on my belt because I was using a new wetsuit, and I thought I had calculated it correctly. My dive buddy, a farmer I had only just met, questioned whether I had too much weight for someone my size. Again, I said I was fine. Then the conditions changed. We were dropped in the wrong location. I sank faster than I should have. At about 50 feet, I could not equalise, and both my eardrums burst. The vertigo was instant and overwhelming. I was disorientated, nauseous and fighting the instinct to vomit. The one thing they teach you in dive school is to never remove your regulator. But instinct is powerful, and I pulled it out. The next involuntary breath could have filled my lungs with water. I was seconds away from drowning. What saved me was not luck alone. It was an inbuilt safety system. In diving, you have a buddy. Someone is watching you. Someone can see what you cannot see in the moment. My buddy noticed I was sinking too quickly. He anticipated something had gone wrong, reached out to me, put the regulator back in my mouth, checked my air supply and supported me all the way back to the surface. That story has stayed with me because it says something important about harm. We can be experienced, capable and well-intentioned, and still miss the way risk is building around us. We can be too close to the task to see it clearly. We can tell ourselves we are fine when the conditions, the equipment, the fatigue or the pressure are quietly stacking up against us. That is what happens on farms all too often. I came into farming through marriage. My first career was nursing, including critical care work and time flying with the Westpac Rescue Helicopter. I had seen the consequences of injury up close. When I became part of the farming sector, what struck me was how normal it seemed that people were killed or seriously injured while producing food. A couple of years into my marriage, we lost a neighbour doing a routine farming task. Friends lost family members. At

Safety is about the way work is done on the farm: vehicles, livestock, machinery, chemicals, fatigue, pressure and isolation.

“

It is about practical change where the work is done. It is about understanding the critical risks in each farming business and asking: If something goes wrong, how do we fail safely? Lindy Nelson ﬁrst, like many people around me, I thought these were unavoidable incidents. Terrible, but somehow part of farming life. Over time, that explanation stopped making sense. These were not one-off, unexplained events. They were connected to the way work was being done: vehicles, livestock, machinery, chemicals, fatigue, pressure and isolation. They were part of a system that had normalised risk. That is why the “Farm Without Harm” strategy matters so much to me. It is a new way of addressing an old problem. It shifts the focus away from leaving individual farmers to ﬁgure it out on their own and asks the sector to do what it does best: come together, share practical knowledge and solve problems collectively. Our legislation gives individuals and businesses legal responsibilities to identify and manage risk. That is important. But Farm Without Harm is something different. It is the sector’s own response. It is farming leaders supporting farming people to protect each other from preventable physical and mental harm. It is our buddy system. It also changes the conversation. For many people, the words “health and safety” can prompt an eye roll. They hear paperwork, compliance and someone telling them how to farm. Farm Without Harm is not about that. It is about practical change where the work is done. It is about understanding the critical risks in each farming business and asking: If something goes wrong, how do we fail safely? That question is especially important

for farmers who work alone. Incidents do not only happen to inexperienced people. They happen to highly experienced people who are tired, under pressure, working in changing conditions or doing a job they have done hundreds of times before. The challenge is to get curious about our own systems instead of defaulting to “I’m good, I’m fine”. On most farms, the critical risks are not a mystery. They are vehicles and mobile plant. They are livestock handling. They are machinery. They are chemicals and airborne risks. They are also the pressures that diminish wellbeing and make good decisions harder. If every farmer identified the critical risks in their own business and managed them well, we would make real progress. The strength of Farm Without Harm is that it is non-judgmental. It meets people where they are. One farmer may decide quad bikes no longer have a place in their system. Another may keep them but add rollover protection, GPS tracking and speed limiters. A one-size-fits-all answer will never fit every farm, but a shared commitment to reducing harm can. That is why ACC’s partnership with Safer Farms has been so important. It is not just a funding relationship. It brings knowledge, data, campaign experience and a shared commitment to healthier people and less harm. It has helped us do the heavy lifting needed to turn a sectorwide strategy into practical action. Receiving the National Health and Safety Leadership Award was deeply meaningful. I am not a health and safety

expert. I am a practical farmer who cares about this sector and believes we can change the story. To be recognised by people who understand health and safety gave legitimacy to five hard years of work and to the farmer-led approach we have been building. But the award is not the point. The point is the work still ahead. New Zealand farmers produce some of the finest food and fibre in the world. What I want is for New Zealand to also be the safest place in the world to farm. That should matter to all of us, not only because we care about our people, but because it is part of our social licence. Consumers should be proud of how their food is produced. They should not have to accept that death, serious injury or long-term harm are part of the cost. I love farming people. I love their stoicism, their practicality, their ability to solve problems and their deep sense of community. Those qualities are exactly why I believe we can do this. The observer often sees what the participant cannot. If we can make those conversations normal, remove judgement and look out for one another, we can build a farming sector where people fail safely and still come home. That day in the water, I needed someone beside me. Farming needs the same thing: not more blame, but a practical, collective buddy system that helps us see risk before it becomes tragedy. ACC work-related agricultural claims In 2025, ACC accepted 17,057 work-related agricultural claims, at a cost of $119 million, to help people recover. The leading regions for work-related agricultural claims in 2025 were Waikato (2,715 claims), Canterbury (2,490), Hawke’s Bay (1,518) and Southland (1,507). ACC tips: ‘Have a Hmmm’ on the farm ■ Look after your back: When you are lifting, remember to bend your knees to avoid straining your back or shoulders. Try a smaller load or find a helping hand. ■ Pace yourself: The job is never done on the farm. Work smarter, not harder. Rushing can lead to accidents. ■ See it, sort it: If you see a potential hazard on the farm, act sooner rather than later. Fix things as best you can, then and there. ■ Have a Hmmm at home: Most home injuries happen from slips, trips and falls.

August 2026

NZ Farmer

Science and Research 15

Updated all day at

Root weevil battle risks being lost Pest control

Tony Benny

he stunning success of an introduced parasite wasp in controlling the clover root weevil that devastated thousands of hectares of pasture in New Zealand during the early 2000s could be at risk if scientists can’t get research funding. Scientists are worried the weevil could evolve to evade the wasp. That has already happened with the closely related parasite wasp that was introduced to combat the Argentine stem weevil, another highly damaging pasture pest. “Our group has had three major biological control successes, the Argentine stem weevil, the clover root weevil and the lucerne weevil. We beat them all, at least for the time being,” emeritus principal scientist Stephen Goldson, who led what was then AgResearch’s (now the Bioeconomy Science Institute’s) biocontrol programme, said. Clover root weevil was discovered in New Zealand in 1996 – and before the wasp was introduced, it was costing pastoral farming in New Zealand more than $230 million a year in lost production as the clover died out. This had the effect of taking away the plant’s vital contribution both as a high-quality feed and a nitrogen ﬁxer. “Clover is New Zealand’s competitive advantage,” Federated Farmers Otago meat and wool chairperson Stephen Jack said. “On our 400-hectare place, we went from virtually zero usage of urea to 40 tonnes, just to try and make up some of the shortfall from the nitrogen ﬁxation

Above: A clover root weevil with a wasp attacking it. Right: Emeritus principal scientist Stephen Goldson.

that we’d lost over a period of about two years. The clover started to disappear in the ﬁrst year and it was completely gone the next.” New Zealand scientists searched Europe for a biocontrol agent that would kill the weevil, eventually ﬁnding one in Ireland. Once authorities were convinced the biocontrol wasp posed no threat to native weevils, it was released on farms throughout New Zealand. “When we brought the parasite in, the clover reappeared, as simple as that. This progress was well documented; in short, it worked,” Goldson said. “We’re very fortunate in that the wasp was suitable to do the job and has been doing the job fantastically well for the last 10 or 12 years,” Jack said.

However, Goldson and colleagues are worried that the parasite could become less effective over time, as has already been documented in the case of a similar wasp introduced to control the Argentine stem weevil. “Some of the extensive work we’ve done now shows that the efficacy of the parasite wasp against stem weevil dropped markedly after about 10 years,” he said. “It’s nothing like as effective as it was in the ﬁrst 10 years ... in New Zealand.” Goldson puts that down to the fact that the wasp reproduces asexually, meaning there’s no genetic diversity between generations, whereas the weevils reproduce sexually and can evolve out of reach of the control agent.

“The stem weevil parasite is kind of stuck in an adaptive groove in that it can’t evolve to keep up with the genetic changes that are going on in the weevil populations. We believe that the selection pressure exerted by the wasp on the weevil has changed its behaviour, whereby it has become much more evasive of the wasp, thus avoiding attack.” The same thing could happen with the clover root weevil. Goldson and his colleague Mark McNeill note that the clover root weevil control agent wasp also reproduces asexually. This could similarly lead to a loss of control of the root weevil. “We haven’t got a hell of a lot of data, but the potential for that to happen again is there.” The trouble is that there’s no funding available to extend this work, and Goldson fears, based on recent pronouncements, that such work is apparently not high on the Government’s spending priorities. “Indeed, there is the implication that the pastoral sectors should take over responsibility.” Goldson is frustrated by this. “I think there are things to be done to consolidate the biocontrol of these pasture pests, which exact such a severe toll on the affordability, competitiveness and sustainability of New Zealand’s pastoral agriculture. If the controls fail, it would represent a massive toll on the affordability of pastoral agriculture.” Jack agrees. “I think it’s something that New Zealand needs to address. They need to chuck some money at it so the wasp can continue to do its marvellous work.”

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Field Days

NZ Farmer

August 2026

16 Innovation and Technology Horticulture

Technology helping Hawke’s Bay fruit growers recover from Cyclone Gabrielle and prepare for future climate shocks is also positioning the industry to meet growing international demand, including potential opportunities arising from New Zealand’s free-trade agreement with India.

wo Hawke’s Bay orchards have invested in advanced post-harvest automation and optical grading technology supplied by MAF NZ, enabling them to improve fruit quality, increase throughput and reduce the impact of labour shortages and production risks. The investments come as horticulture assumes an increasingly important role in New Zealand’s economy. Export revenue for the sector was projected to reach a record $8.5 billion in the year to June 30 last year and is forecast to approach $10b by 2029, driven largely by kiwifruit and apple exports. MAF NZ – a subsidiary of global post-harvest automation specialist MAF Roda Agrobotic – designs, manufactures and installs robotic grading, sorting and packing systems for fresh produce operations. The company said automation was becoming increasingly important as growers sought greater efficiency, consistency and competitiveness while responding to labour constraints and climate-related disruption. The Fulford family has been growing fruit for 112 years and established Omahuri Orchard during the early 1970s. Today, the business operates across four sites in the Hastings-Havelock North area, spanning more than 55 hectares, producing about 36 fruit varieties and packing more than 2740 tonnes a year. About 2200 tonnes of apples are exported each year, while about 540 tonnes of cherries, plums, nectarines and peaches are supplied to the domestic market. Director Peter Fulford said demand for New Zealand apples remained strong and export conditions continued to support conﬁdence in the sector. Although Omahuri escaped Cyclone Gabrielle with relatively minor damage – losing about 100 trees and enduring a 12-hour power outage – the business has continued investing in technology to strengthen its resilience against future weather events and biosecurity risks. “We installed a MAF Roda grader, which has been fully operational since the start of the 2019 season,” Fulford said. “Previously, our packhouse relied heavily on manual labour for grading, sorting and packing fruit. While effective, that approach naturally allowed for human error and inconsistency. “We now use internal defect-sorting technology that allows us to effectively look inside the fruit, assess internal quality and identify defects that cannot be seen externally. We also use Globalscan to detect external defects such as wind rub, bruising, sunburn and other cosmetic damage. “That enables us to remove defective fruit much earlier in the process, helping protect quality and maintain consistency.” Fulford said automation extended well beyond the grading line. “As an automation-ready orchard

Optical grading looks inside fruit “

We now use internal defect-sorting technology that allows us to effectively look inside the fruit, assess internal quality and identify defects that cannot be seen externally. Peter Fulford

The MAF Roda Agrobotic setup gives better visibility into fruit production and packhouse performance, says Omahuri Orchard director Peter Fulford.

using equipment such as hydro ladders, our technology allows us to consistently produce high-quality fruit while handling multiple sizes, grades and packing speeds simultaneously. “We also have much better visibility into production and packhouse performance throughout the season, allowing us to make better decisions around grading, quality and throughput while consistently meeting customer requirements.” Kelston Orchards has also transformed its packing operation through a major investment in automation. The family-owned Hawke’s Bay business, which has operated for more than 40 years, rebuilt its packhouse and installed a turn-key MAF Roda grading and packing system after rising international

demand pushed its previous operation beyond capacity. Owner Tony Harington said the business had been operating its packing facility for 60 to 70 hours a week before deciding to modernise. “It was a major upgrade. We built a new packhouse, installed a state-of-the-art MAF Roda system and added a large cool store at the same time. “The 2500m2 facility includes a multi-lane feeding and optical grading system capable of handling up to 60 bins an hour. The upgrade has had a major impact on productivity. “We’re now packing almost half as much again in two-thirds of the time. With 60 people in the packhouse, we can produce up to 10,000 cartons a day.”

Harington said Cyclone Gabrielle reinforced the need to improve efficiency and resilience. “We were fortunate to lose only a few trees, although we lost about half our crop that season. Innovation, robotics and automation are changing horticulture around the world, and we see that continuing.” Fulford said emerging export opportunities, particularly in India, made the industry’s investment in technology increasingly important. “There is strong growth potential for New Zealand apples as new trade opportunities develop. Our grading and internal defect technology gives us the quality control and operational ﬂexibility to increase throughput as demand grows.”

August 2026

NZ Farmer

Innovation and Technology 17

Updated all day at

Halter’s beefy product investment Pasture management

wo months after unveiling a major upgrade to its beef product, Halter’s farmers are already on track for production gains and additional grass growth, the company says. Beef Pro was rolled out by the virtual fencing pioneer alongside a world-first move to connect its smart collars directly to satellites in partnership with OneNZ, powered by Starlink. Since then, in New Zealand alone, 500 beef farms have joined Halter’s satellite solution, with 185 farms on the new beef product. The company is headquartered in Auckland, with a United States office in Colorado and Australian operations in Melbourne. It serves more than 3500 farmers in New Zealand, Australia and the US, and has sold more than one million solar-powered, GPS-enabled collars. Halter’s country director for New Zealand Josh Townsend said beef farmers were rapidly moving beyond virtual fencing to take full advantage of pasture and animal management tools that dairy farms have leveraged for years. He said it was a level playing field for the industry. “Kiwi dairy farmers are world-renowned pasture managers, and for five years they have been incredible users of Halter; now, for our beef farmers, it’s their day in the sun,” Townsend said. The product combines feed demand and grazing planning tools, satellite forage signals, grazing intensity heat maps, behaviour monitoring and automated grazing records so the same system that moves cattle also helps

An example of the output from Beef Pro NZ’s pasture-mapping tool.

“

Now, for our beef farmers, it’s their day in the sun. Josh Townsend farmers plan, measure and improve. Beef operations can quantify what their herds need versus what their land can support, have this data drive planning and build a record of how each grazing event performed. Wasted forage from under-grazing and over-grazing becomes the main prize; every percentage point of utilisation captured back compounds. “Everything else – time savings, animal oversight, compliance records and

replaced tools – stacks on top.” Matt Wyeth, the owner-operator at Spring Valley beef farm in Masterton, believes Beef Pro could bring beef farmers in line with the pasture precision their dairy counterparts are known for. “Certainly, we’re catching them up fast. Dairy farmers are typically ahead of us because they have more chance for income per hectare, but Halter has given us a giant leap forward and is allowing us to be great pasture managers, too. “We’re growing animals more consistently every day, not having a feastor-famine scenario. With pasture, we’re getting more efficient with the amount of pasture needed to produce a kilo of carcass weight. Because we’ve had a great season and we’re growing more grass, we are tracking to reduce our feed conversion ratio from 24kg of dry matter per kilogram of carcass weight to 21kg of dry matter per kilogram of carcass weight; that’s a

12.5% efficiency gain in feed conversion, producing the same amount of beef with less pasture due to its quality. “We’re now tracking rumination by the minute, constantly looking at every mob, and doing a quick health dashboard check every morning to ensure they’re on a good nutritional plane.” Greenhill Farming in Kaingaroa, Northland, has collared more than 600 Friesian bulls. Co-owner Katie Waters sees Beef Pro as a way to double down on the notable production gains they’re already tracking towards since getting Halter. “Cattle are now shifted daily rather than every second or third day. We’re running more mobs with smaller sizes, which is reducing social pressure in the herd and improving pasture utilisation. “Halter will take our production gains even further. We’re on target to hit 360kg of carcass weight per hectare this season, up from our three-year average of 280kg. In the coming seasons, we are hoping to reach production in the mid-to-high 400kg range. “For our bull operation, Halter’s land management tool has enabled us to run our property as 25 individual farmlets. Each farmlet has its own pasture metrics and targets in the Halter app. This has given us the ﬂexibility to adjust each block’s round length, rather than taking a blanket approach across the whole farm, which historically has led to wastage.” Already 100 beef farms have signed up for Beef Pro, nearly half of them existing customers upgrading to the new suite of functionality. Halter has sold more than one million collars globally, with nearly 400,000 of them satellite-enabled.

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NZ Farmer

August 2026

18 Dairy

Fonterra cuts milk forecast Farmgate prices

RNZ

onterra has lowered its 2026-27 milk price forecast amid declining prices at recent Global Dairy Trade (GDT) auctions. The co-op said the revised new season farmgate milk price forecast was $9.25 per kilogram of milk solids, with a new range of $8 to $10.50/kg. It was down from the opening forecast of $9.75/kg announced in May, with a wide range of $8 to $11/kg. The 2025-26 forecast of $9.60 to $9.80/kg, with a mid-point of $9.70, remains unchanged. Fonterra chief executive Richard Allen said the change for the new season reﬂected softer-than-expected demand amid strong supply. “GDT prices have fallen 11% across the reference products that inform the farmgate milk price since we announced the opening forecast in late May, while milk production from key exporting regions is up on last year.” The most recent GDT auction saw the price index fall 4.9%, with whole milk powder down 4.4%. “We’re expecting a strong start to the season in New Zealand, noting the potential for the El Niño weather pattern to impact global supply as the season progresses,” Allen said. He noted it was still “very early days”. Allen said the co-op continued to focus on maximising returns for farmer shareholders.

Fonterra chief executive Richard Allen says a reduced milk price forecast for the new season reflects softer-than-expected demand amid strong supply. LYNDA FERINGA

“As the seasonal supply picks up, our plan will ensure we utilise our ﬂexible operations footprint, strong customer relationships and robust supply chain to shift milk into the products and markets where we can get the best returns for our farmers’ milk.” Wairarapa dairy farmer John Stevenson said the lower milk price forecast would not have surprised most farmers, after consecutive and signiﬁcant price drops at the GDT auctions. “We’ve certainly seen the last two Global Dairy Trade events fall off, and

“

GDT prices have fallen 11% across the reference products that inform the farmgate milk price. Richard Allen

whilst we never like to see a decline in forecast farmgate milk price, it is early in the season and Fonterra has clearly reacted to what they’re seeing in the market. We hope we’ll see it come back up again.” Stevenson said most farmers’ breakeven milk prices sat at the high $8 a kg of milk solids mark, although farm input costs continued to rise. “With this recent reduction in farmgate milk price, those margins become a bit slimmer and we as farmers wouldn’t want to be seeing that drop any further, otherwise it’ll put real pressure on our businesses.” There was an oversupply of milk in the global market at present, driven by increased production out of the United States and Germany, according to Rabobank’s latest Agribusiness report for June. The report said heatwaves in Europe may affect its production, with France’s dipping after a strong start and Ireland behind year-on-year levels. Looking ahead to the new milk season here, Stevenson said New Zealand’s milk production could also be reduced by the forecast El Niño weather pattern. “Fonterra will react similarly if they see demand go up from a reduced supply globally, and even looking forward you know, if a super El Niño appears here then that would no doubt impact our production domestically.” This story was first published on rnz.co.nz

Synlait wins $320 million loan backing from banks Debt turnaround

Rob Stock

ZX-listed dairy company Synlait says it has finalised a $320 million bank funding agreement to secure its future. Most of the banks involved are Chinese, reflecting the 65% ownership of Synlait by Chinese company Bright Dairy & Food. The banks involved are ANZ Bank, China Construction Bank, Bank of China, Shanghai Rural Commercial Bank, HSBC, China Merchants Bank, Bank of Communications, Industrial and Commercial Bank of China, and Bank of Beijing. There are mechanisms in the loan agreement for the $146m portion for working capital to reduce to $26m on June 1 next year, as Synlait looks to reduce its overall debt. The banking syndicate contains financial covenants and earnings “milestones” that Synlait must meet in order not to go into default. There’s still a long way to go for Synlait’s share price to recover to its 2023 levels. In February of that year, its shares were trading at about $3.50. At the end of last month, they were worth 39c. The company hit a crisis in 2023, having borrowed heavily before the Covid pandemic struck in a bid to grow. It spent $280m on a manufacturing

plant at Pokeno, $125m on a new liquid plant at Dunsandel, and $150m on cheese companies Talbot Forest Cheese and Dairyworks. But the investments didn’t perform as it had hoped, and when the Chinese birthrate fell, Synlait suffered falling demand for infant formula at a time when its largest customer was infant formula company a2 Milk. In 2024, Synlait’s syndicate of bankers, which included ANZ, demanded debt be reduced. Synlait’s Chinese part-owner Bright Dairy supported efforts to restructure the company to reduce its debt, including through the sale of assets. In September 2024, Synlait shareholders approved a recapitalisation plan to stave off the threat of liquidation. In February, Synlait completed the $307m sale of its North Island assets to global healthcare company Abbott. Synlait chief executive Richard Wyeth, who stepped down from the role in May, said the sale marked an important turning point for Synlait. “It will strengthen and simplify our business while giving us the space to drive our recovery forward with a focus on where Synlait was founded, in Canterbury,” he said. Synlait has dubbed its turnaround strategy “stabilise, simplify, scale”. In March, it told shareholders the plan would take 12 to 24 months to implement.

After Synlait’s 2023 crisis, the company hopes its ‘stabilise, simplify, scale’ plan will now turn things around.

August 2026

NZ Farmer

Dairy 19

Updated all day at

Sharemilker aims for ownership Award

Charlotte Graham

fter being named the primary sector’s top emerging leader, Morrinsville dairy farmer Danielle Hovmand has her eyes on farm ownership next. Hovmand, 29, was awarded the title of top emerging leader at the Primary Industries Summit in late June, beating fellow ﬁnalists James Robertson, chief of staff at Fonterra, and dairy farm manager Ben Purua, the 2024 Ahuwhenua Young Māori Farmer of the Year. “It was really nice to meet both James and Ben and the work they’re doing in communities to encourage and inspire other people is incredible, so that was a big honour to be named alongside them as a ﬁnalist and it was a surprise to win,” Hovmand said. Growing up, Hovmand spent a lot of time at her grandparents’ Hereford stud in Katikati, where they did all of the stock work on horseback, and her parents had previously owned a dairy farm. Her path was always clear, it just came down to deciding on dairy or beef. “I did an agricultural science degree at uni and we had to do summer placements, ... I got a placement on the next door neighbour’s dairy farm and I really enjoyed it. They offered me a fulltime job when I left university, so I stayed. “It’s a challenging but very rewarding job. I’m learning so many different skills and I love being outside on a beautiful sunny day. There’s certainly bits I don’t enjoy, but every job has that and it makes you learn to be resilient and persevere.” After working as a farm manager,

Danielle Hovmand was surprised to be recognised as this year’s top emerging leader at the recent Primary Industries Summit. MARK TAYLOR/WAIKATO TIMES

Hovmand decided to move to Morrinsville and started contract milking. She then went 50/50 sharemilking with her partner Harry Phipps, who is a builder. They are into their fourth season now and milk 250 cows on the property, but eager to get ahead, they also took on a second sharemilking job with 200 cows this season on the other side of Morrinsville, where a manager takes care of the day-to-day work. “The goal is to buy our own farm in the next ﬁve years, which I suppose is a big

goal, but we’re trying to make the most of the industry being really strong at the moment. “Having the second sharemilking job is just building equity and allowing us to pay off the second herd faster.” They’d like to buy a farm around the 80-hectare and 250-cow mark, and while she hoped it could be in the same area, she noted that Morrinsville was prime dairy country. She said they had bought their cows at a good time about four years ago when

prices were under $2000, but now the average cow was more like $3000. “It’s a challenge now for young people to get into sharemilking, which is a bit concerning, but ... the payout is also high, so if you can get in that ensures you’re able to pay off the cows. “While the industry is really strong I think people need to be ensuring that their contract milkers are getting paid fairly as well ... I think it’s important that those people on the other end of farm ownership help support a young person with some guidance into opportunities.” With cow prices and payouts strong, it also lessened the gap between sharemilkers and farm owners, meaning more young sharemilkers could be looking to buy farms. Hovmand has been heavily involved in the Morrinsville Ngarua Young Farmers club over the years and is also the sharemilker chairperson for the Waikato Federated Farmers. She’s been involved in numerous community and rural events including leading the 2021 Morrinsville Ngarua Young Farmers naked calendar fundraiser, the 2023 community quiz night, which generated $30,000 for local causes, local parades as well as speaking at schools and A&P shows. She also encouraged Federated Farmers to campaign for young farmers being able to use their KiwiSaver balances to buy their ﬁrst homes or farms. The list of achievements continues: she was named Auckland-Hauraki Share Farmer of the Year in 2022, received the New Zealand Young Farmers Contiki Local Legend Award in 2024 and was a ﬁnalist in this year’s ASB Alumni of the Year Award.

NZ Farmer

August 2026

20 Horticulture

Plan change will push vege prices up Pukekohe Vegetable Growers Association president Brendan Balle, left, and grower Allan Fong are worried that Plan Change 1 will raise prices on supermarket shelves.

Environment

Charlotte Graham

orth Waikato vegetable growers are worried that new “unworkable” environmental legislation could lead to higher vege prices on supermarket shelves or growers selling up. Pukekohe Vegetable Growers Association president Brendan Balle estimates that Plan Change 1 (PC1) could affect 200 growers in the area and could have ﬂow-on effects on domestic food supply. “If PC1 becomes operative, and it follows what the Environment Court and council have dictated, we’re very worried that it will likely mean that food supply and production for vegetables will be severely disrupted, for not only the Waikato, but the whole country. “It’s already a challenging environment out there. The country’s been in a recession for who knows how many years, so spending is down and everybody is really tight at the moment. I would hate to see food prices become unaffordable because of this.” PC1 is the ﬁrst step in an 80-year programme designed to reduce nitrogen, phosphorus, sediment and bacterial contamination entering the rivers with tighter rules on use in agriculture. Balle estimated that throughout the winter months, Pukekohe could be contributing to roughly 80% of the domestic vegetable production because of its milder climate. However, he was concerned that the red tape and associated costs of PC1 could drive some growers to reduce production. He said that a common worry was that if growers’ capital costs became too high or uncertain, they would become “unbankable”. Allan Fong, director of The Fresh Grower, has been on the farm most of his life, but is now apprehensive about the effects of PC1 on his business and the next generation. “We are up to the third generation on our farm and it’s really challenging for them. They’ve got a lot more hoops to jump through now and a lot more red tape.” Fong’s key concerns centred around

Vege boss Brendan Balle says a national standard would be a more workable system.

nitrogen use and growing across multiple sub-catchment areas. “Our type of crops are very nitrogen driven, like that’s the one fundamental element that actually drives green leaf crops. In the last few years, we have tried to be as efficient as we can but there is a limit to how low you can go and in a timeframe. “If we are mandated with X number of kilos of nitrogen per crop, I can see the situation becoming that we will end up not being able to grow because inputs are so high and yield isn’t as good.” He noted that his fuel bill had doubled during the past quarter and inputs such as labour were high with the majority of the picking and packing done by hand because he grows leafy greens. Fong employs about 100 staff. A core growing practice is crop rotation between different parcels of land to prevent diseases and pests for speciﬁc plants building up in that area, and to minimise fertiliser and spray use to manage them. Fong aims to rotate once every three years, and currently has operations across about 10 different properties. However, with PC1 focusing on water

“

What we’ve got is an unworkable plan for vegetable growers. Brendan Balle Pukekohe Vegetable Growers Association president quality at a sub-catchment level, he has concerns that it will be harder and more costly to get a resource consent because he is across multiple areas. The farm was started by Fong’s father and grandfather and is now into its 70th year of operation, with Fong’s son and nephews beginning to take over operations. “We share this as a family and the younger ones are quite chuffed that they can see all of their hard efforts on the store shelf and it’s actually a good, healthy product we’re growing.”

MARK TAYLOR/WAIKATO TIMES

The farm spans about 200 hectares and they tend to lease a further 150ha. He would be in the top 5% of growers sizewise and all of his veges were for domestic consumption. He said very little of New Zealand’s fresh vegetables were imported because of cost and freshness constraints. Fong worried that if domestic supply was restricted that more reliance on imports could leave the country vulnerable to geopolitical events cutting off supply. Balle added that he felt PC1 regulators were not looking at the big picture. “We’ve all got a responsibility to improve water quality, but it doesn’t mean that everybody should stop growing because then how do we feed everybody? What we’ve got is an unworkable plan for vegetable growers. “I’ve already got two or three significant growers saying that if it went to the highest degree of regulation, they’d sell. “I think there needs to be a wider discussion with iwi and the Government about the importance of getting it right. “I believe the way forward is more catchment collectives and communities working together to get better environmental outcomes.” He was also advocating for growers to be subject to a national standard rather than regional plans. In a statement, Waikato Regional Council said it was not appropriate to comment on the detail of specific provisions, but noted that “the matters raised by Pukekohe growers have been extensively canvassed through the appeals process”. “The court has had the benefit of considerable evidence and submissions from a wide range of parties, including the horticulture sector, and parties have engaged constructively throughout to help refine workable and practicable provisions.” PC1 is closer to being operational after the Environment Court directed Waikato Regional Council to make 20 changes to finalise details in June. At a recent Federated Farmers meeting, ministers Chris Bishop and Todd McClay signalled their concern over PC1 clashing with RMA changes and were taking advice on how to mitigate this.

August 2026

NZ Farmer

Horticulture 21

Updated all day at

Food security must be a priority Opinion

Horticulture NZ chief executive Kate Scott takes a look at the Green Party policy on synthetic nitrogen and whether it should be phased out.

t a time when food security is a growing challenge in New Zealand, and too many people are not eating enough fruit and vegetables, the Green Party’s proposal to phase out synthetic nitrogen fertiliser deserves careful scrutiny. A blanket restriction would inevitably constrain vegetable supply, increase prices for New Zealanders, and have direct consequences for health outcomes. More than 80% of vegetables produced in this country are grown for the domestic market. New Zealand growers produce about 90% of all fresh vegetables consumed here, making a productive vegetable sector fundamental to feeding the nation. Nitrogen is an essential plant nutrient, and fertiliser is critical to delivering the quantity, reliability and timing required to grow horticultural crops, particularly vegetables, at the scale New Zealanders need. It is not a “nice to have” or an “easy option” for growers. There is currently no practical alternative that can produce sufficient volumes at scale. To meet New Zealand’s food security

needs, we need a rigorous but pragmatic approach to synthetic nitrogen use. The focus should be on responsible nutrient management, backed by robust industry assurance programmes and continuous improvement, not on removing one of the fundamental tools required to grow healthy food. There is a significant body of research highlighting the importance of keeping vegetables affordable and accessible for New Zealanders, as well as the potential consequences when costs rise. A 2020 University of Otago study, The health and health system cost impacts of increasing vegetable prices over time, estimated that increases in vegetable prices could impose health system costs of between $490 million and $610m through reduced vegetable consumption. In 2024, NZIER research, Making the economic case for vegetable production in New Zealand, warned that constraints on commercial vegetable production could severely affect supply. The research indicated that a 20% reduction in production could increase vegetable prices by at least 20%, and potentially by more than 100%. One example cited was broccoli reaching $27 per kilogram, or about $9 a head. Vegetables that New Zealanders have long regarded as dietary staples should not become luxury items. Robust measures are already in place to manage fertiliser use. Modern horticultural production relies on precision nutrient management. Practices such as soil testing, nitrogen crop-specific budgeting, split applications, crop-specifi c nutrient recommendations, and decisionsupport tools help growers closely match

nitrogen use to crop demand. Growers are committed to managing risks to freshwater, including the risk of nitrogen loss. Audited and certiﬁed Good Agricultural Practice (GAP) systems are in place, and about 75% of vegetable-growing land is covered by the NZGAP Environment Management System (EMS) module for farm environment plans. The sector is focused on continuous improvement. HortNZ has updated a suite of environmental codes of practice, and NZGAP is refreshing the EMS module to meet freshwater farm plan requirements. New Zealand’s growers help put food on the plates of every New Zealander. They do this while managing signiﬁcant risks,

Horticulture NZ chief executive Kate Scott says the Government must take a co-ordinated national approach to supporting food production.

including droughts, floods, and soaring costs. It is getting harder for them to keep doing this essential work, especially where the returns for doing so are diminishing. Every political party and relevant agency should look at the horticulture sector as a whole and genuinely understand how its many interconnected parts work together. It is time to recognise that freshwater and climate planning must treat food production as a national priority, not an afterthought. New Zealand needs a national direction for commercial vegetable production. I do not believe those proposing a blanket restriction on essential fertilisers want to place further heavy burdens on an already stretched grower community. I do not believe they want to hobble vegetable production or push healthy produce out of reach for many shoppers. However, that would very likely be the consequence of what they are calling for. At HortNZ, our door is always open to discuss the realities of growing fruit and vegetables in New Zealand and the work being done to protect the land, protect waterways, and protect Kiwis’ affordable, access to aff ordable, healthy produce. Greater knowledge and understanding of fruit and vegetable growing would help ensure this critically important sector remains resilient, productive, and sustainable into the future, benefitt and wellbeing for the benefi of all New Zealanders.

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NZ Farmer

August 2026

22 Sheep and Beef

The buyer of an Arapawa Island sheep farm plans to develop it to host camps for young people.

The Commerce Commission is assessing Anzco’s proposed takeover of Greenlea, a deal that would further consolidate New Zealand’s meat-processing industry. ANZCO FOODS

Going from sheep farm to charity camp site

Scrutiny begins over big meat-sector deal A

Property

The Japanese owner of Christchurch-based Anzco wants to buy Hamilton’s Greenlea Group for $800 million, but the deal has to ﬁrst be considered by the competition regulator. Dita De Boni reports.

deal that would make New Zealand’s already highly consolidated, largely offshore-owned meat processing sector even more so is in the works, and the Commerce Commission recently released an outline of the issues it’s considering in whether to approve the deal or not. Japan’s Itoham Yonekyu Holdings owns Christchurch-based Anzco, which is offering $800 million for Greenlea Group, which processes meat in Waikato. Both companies process and supply beef products to domestic and export markets, while Anzco also processes and supplies lamb products and is many times bigger than the Hamilton-based Greenlea. Both companies also export most of their beef while domestically supplying supermarkets, foodservice operators and food manufacturers with things such as processed beef products and other parties with products including offal, pelts, skins, casings, wool and rendered products, as well as animal-derived serums and blood proteins for global customers in the biotech sector. Greenlea is privately owned by the Egan family, who usually feature on the NBR Rich List. The companies would become the third largest meat processor in the country by revenue, at a combined $2.8 billion – comprising Anzco’s $2.2b annual turnover and Greenlea’s $600m. The latter is more proﬁtable than the former. The largest meat processor in New Zealand is Silver Fern Farms, which is half owned locally and half by Chinese state-owned enterprise Shanghai Maling, a subsidiary of Bright Foods. The second largest, Alliance Group, is a strategic

“

No single processor can sustainably acquire cattle at below-market rates. Anzco submission corporate partnership between a major Irish multinational Dawn Meats and New Zealand farmer-shareholders. NZ First leader Winston Peters has criticised some of the major deals made with offshore buyers recently, including the Dawn Meats deal for half of Alliance, as well as the sale of the Mainland Group, Fonterra’s consumer brands, to France’s Lactalis and others. His comments concur with others that New Zealand companies are often undervalued at home and sold for a song to deep-pocketed offshore buyers. Meat industry commentator Allan Barber, writing in Farmers Weekly, said the deal was “strategically smart” from Anzco, “although the purchase price seems eye-wateringly high, as much as twice as much as some industry players expected. “The likelihood is Itoham [Anzco] has paid a substantial premium to buy the last available high-volume beef processor in New Zealand.” Competition Anzco has argued the deal would not lessen competition because the parties’ operations do not overlap geographically,

and they would continue to operate as separate entities. More speciﬁcally, it said the deal would not see reduced competition in either the North Island market for the acquisition of cattle for processing, nor the national market for the domestic supply of processed beef products. Its reasons include that there is strong competition from existing, established beef processors in the North Island, including Silver Fern Farms and Affco; Anzco and Greenlea are geographically separate; there is “signiﬁcant spare processing capacity among the other North Island beef processors (even during the peak of the season)”, meaning competitors could increase production if they needed to; and price competition for cattle in the North Island is dynamic “with farmers being well-informed of prices offered by different processors and can readily switch their supply from one processor to another on a week-by-week basis. “No single processor can sustainably acquire cattle at below-market rates, as farmers will simply sell to the highest bidder,” Anzco said in its submission. In the domestic supply of beef products it said even merged, the merged parties’ market share is low, competition is strong, and “domestic customers typically source beef products from multiple processors and frequently switch between suppliers based on price, quality and service”. The commission will test these arguments in its investigation to ensure competition is genuinely not lessened in the relevant markets. Submissions will be received on the deal from now and a decision is likely to be made by August 18 this year, although it could be later.

468-hectare sheep farm on an island in the Marlborough Sounds has been bought for $4.4 million by an entity connected to a Singaporean charity, which plans to host educational camps for young people. The Overseas Investment Office has approved the sale of the Arapaoa Island property, which was used as a sheep farm by the Heberley family to produce highcountry merino wool for the global outdoor clothing brand Icebreaker. The buyer, LWC 2025 LP, a New Zealand limited partnership ultimately owned by Australian and Singaporean individuals, planned to “continue farming operations and introduce a cattle herd, which it will use for vocational education purposes for young people aged 11 to 18”, the Overseas Investment Office’s decision said. The Heberley family bought the Okukari Bay property in 1945. It served as a base for their ﬁshing company, initially in the whaling industry and later for shark, butterﬁsh and grouper. The property is about 19 nautical miles from Picton, or 50 minutes by boat. The Heberley family was approached for comment. Two of the four buyers are directors of the Singapore-based charity Extra Ordinary People, the investment office said. The Singaporean charity, which has a direct connection to Singaporean banking dynasties, supports individuals with special needs and their families. Its programmes run from early childhood into adulthood, focusing heavily on post-18 integration and independent living. The office’s decision said the buyer wanted to develop training and accommodation facilities at the property to host camps for young people.

August 2026

NZ Farmer

Sheep and Beef 23

Updated all day at

Following NZ’s lead on emissions Opinion

Kate Acland

e may be thousands of kilometres from Europe, but a signiﬁcant shift in how the European Union views livestock and emissions has direct implications for New Zealand. It marks a fundamental change in the debate – and advocacy by New Zealand organisations such as Beef + Lamb New Zealand has helped shape it. Rather than treating cattle, sheep, pigs and poultry primarily as a climate problem, the European Commission’s new EU Livestock Strategy positions livestock as a strategic asset essential for food security, rural economies and European resilience. Only a few years ago, the conversations in countries such as the Netherlands and Ireland were about slashing livestock numbers to meet environmental and climate goals. This new policy treats having too few livestock as a risk for both food security and rural stability. Science will tell us that a reduction in methane will help reduce warming, and the EU hasn’t shifted entirely away from efforts to reduce the climate impact from agriculture. But rather than targeting wholesale reductions in livestock numbers as previously, they are now moving to an incentives scheme with farm-level measurement and rewards for farmers who adopt technologies such as feed additives, genetics and management practices to reduce emissions intensity. There is no mention of pricing agricultural emissions in their strategy, only rewarding farmers for taking actions. The most signiﬁcant shift for New Zealand is the acknowledgement that biogenic methane from ruminant animals is different from fossil fuel emissions because it’s part of a natural carbon cycle and is a short-lived gas, so should be treated differently. Reports from Europe directly refer to New Zealand advocacy in this space. New Zealand has led the world by

Beef + Lamb New Zealand chairperson Kate Acland says quiet advocacy is having an impact. CLARE TOIA-BAILEY

having separate targets for methane to CO2. The EU’s recent strategy indicates that the rest of the world is moving in our direction. That should be celebrated. Agriculture has not been “let off the hook” as some try to claim; New Zealand’s approach is the right one and others are starting to follow. That is not just the result of work by our Government – it’s come from groups like B+LNZ, which have promoted evidence and science on the role of livestock in our climate. We’ve brought top global climate scientists from both New Zealand and Oxford University to the fore to draw attention to this issue. Last year, I met NFU president Tom Bradshaw in London. This was the ﬁrst meeting between our two organisations since the signing of the United Kingdom free-trade agreement and it signalled a strong desire to address shared challenges across our two countries. The main topic of conversation was the treatment of methane in climate accounting. We agreed to progress a position urging our respective governments to adopt a “split gas” approach when considering emissions – a position that recognises that

“

New Zealand has led the world by having separate targets for methane to CO2. methane behaves differently than other long-lived climate gases – and that stable methane emissions effectively contribute no additional warming. A position paper was established and a global engagement effort followed. Led by B+LNZ, we now have 44 signatories to the paper from more than a dozen countries (many in Europe) – groups that represent the livestock sector, calling on their governments to treat methane from a warming perspective. These quiet advocacy efforts are having an impact. Our current Government has stated its intention to “consider” taking a split gas approach in our international (Paris

Accord) commitments but we’re yet to see any action on this. This shift in EU policy should be a clear signal to open this conversation on the global stage. The new EU livestock policy is a clear move away from policies focused on reducing herd numbers. Instead, it seeks to improve environmental performance while maintaining livestock production, jobs and rural economic activity. Our Government is so often keen to follow the lead of the EU – this is certainly one issue NZ farmers would like to see them follow – one that recognises the strategic and economic importance of agriculture in this country. We know that one in 20 jobs in this country is supported by the red-meat sector alone. We are among the most emissions-efficient producers of red meat in the world – our ability to produce food efficiently is our biggest strategic asset as a country. Wouldn’t it be great to see this recognised? Kate Acland is the chairperson of Beef + Lamb New Zealand and a mid-Canterbury sheep, beef and dairy farmer.

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August 2026

24 Forestry

Forestry in a changing climate could growing trees fast be our advantage? Scott Downs Stand Forestry

eather forecasting is a difficult but solid business. You can be wrong most of the time and keep your job. But every now and then, the signals become difficult to ignore. Forecasters are currently predicting a very strong El Niño developing through 2026. For New Zealand, El Niño typically brings stronger and more frequent westerly winds, tending to make eastern and northern areas drier while bringing more rain to western parts of the country. For farmers and foresters alike, it is another reminder that the climate our land experiences in 20 or 30 years may look somewhat different from today. This creates an interesting challenge for forestry. A tree planted this winter may still be standing in the 2050s. We are making decisions today about species, genetics and where we plant trees without knowing exactly what conditions those trees will experience over their lifetime. Fortunately, New Zealand may have one signiﬁcant advantage – we grow softwood trees remarkably fast. Our radiata pine plantations are generally harvested at around 25–30 years. Compare that with many of the major softwood-producing regions of Europe, Scandinavia and Canada, where forest rotations can extend from 50 years to well beyond 100. This means we have more opportunities to adapt. Over a century, a New Zealand forest could

New Zealand’s radiata pine plantations are generally harvested at around 25–30 years compared with softwood-producing regions of Europe, Scandinavia and Canada, where forest rotations can extend from 50 years to well beyond 100.

potentially go through three or four rotations. Each rotation provides another opportunity to use improved genetics, change silviculture, reconsider stocking and better match trees to the climate we expect them to encounter. Of course, we aren't alone in growing trees quickly. Chile also grows radiata pine on relatively short rotations and

Australia's intensively managed softwood plantations operate on similar timeframes. Brazil grows eucalyptus extraordinarily quickly, sometimes harvesting within a decade, although these are predominantly hardwood plantations supplying very different markets from our radiata pine. Climate change will also affect each of these countries differently.

El Niño can bring hotter and drier conditions to important Australian forestry regions, increasing drought and wildfire risk. Chile already faces significant drought and fire challenges. Southern Brazil, by contrast, often becomes wetter during El Niño, creating different risks from storms, flooding and excessive rainfall. New Zealand faces its own challenges. Drought and fire risk may increase in some regions, while stronger winds, extreme rainfall, pests and diseases could become increasingly important elsewhere. But adaptation doesn't necessarily mean abandoning radiata pine. We have spent decades improving radiata genetics, and future generations can increasingly be selected for characteristics such as disease resistance, growth and resilience to environmental stress. We can also become smarter about matching genetics and species to individual sites rather than assuming what worked for the last 30 years will work for the next 30. Perhaps that is one of New Zealand forestry's less obvious competitive advantages. When the climate changes, a 100-year-old forest can't quickly change with it. A plantation forestry industry operating on 25–30-year rotations can. We can't control what the climate of 2050 will look like. But we do have the opportunity to ensure the forests we plant for it are better prepared. In a changing climate, the ability to adapt quickly may become almost as important as the ability to grow trees quickly.

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August 2026

NZ Farmer

Travel 27

Updated all day at

An unexpected invitation to a remote village wedding reveals the warmth, traditions and extraordinary hospitality waiting beyond the South Asian nation’s famous mountain landscapes, writes Justin Meneguzzi.

Finding friendship in Pakistan

must confess, I’ve committed the ultimate faux pas. I’ve turned up to a wedding empty-handed. To be fair, I wasn’t invited in the ﬁrst place, and the gifting options from my rucksack are tragic. A pack of Tim Tams? A dog-eared copy of National Geographic? A bag of dirty undies? I’m midway through a two-week expedition in Pakistan with Intrepid Travel, a journey that has so far carried our small group from the capital, Islamabad, to the mountains and poplar-ﬁlled valleys of Gilgit-Baltistan, in the country’s far north. This region is where the Himalayas, Karakoram and Hindu Kush ranges intersect, making it a popular destination for mountaineers and hikers, but otherwise little known outside the subcontinent. The focal point of our itinerary is Hunza Valley, a glacier-carved region that is just starting to blush crimson and gold for autumn. Staring out from our small coach as it winds its way into the valley, I watch teal rivers as they effervesce at the feet of endless serrated peaks marching towards the horizon. Leading us is guide Aisha Riaz, whose easy-going personality belies an effortless ability to switch from recounting the history of pulao (a spicy rice dish with myriad interpretations) to debating geopolitics at the drop of her signature red hat. For a country with 70 distinct language groups, Aisha’s multilingual skills are the key to unlocking experiences that aren’t on the official itinerary. So far, Aisha has helped us into a local auntie’s home in Passu, where we lay about on red Persian rugs snacking on apricots and cheering on her son’s impromptu dance performance. Nearby at Glacier Breeze Restaurant, famous for its apricot cake, Aisha coaxed the chef to our table for a spontaneous meet and greet. Leaving Passu behind, our coach

Above: Hunza Valley, a glacier-carved region. Right: A bride at a village wedding in Pakistan.

PHOTOS: JUSTIN MENEGUZZI

steers off the Karakoram Highway onto a meandering, unpaved road through narrow canyons towards Shimshal. Completely remote, Shimshal’s only road was built just 20 years ago. Before then, if one of the village’s 3000 residents wanted to visit Passu, they had to hike for three days. We edge towards Shimshal, sometimes slowing down behind free-ranging yaks or backtracking alongside precipitous cliffs to allow traffic to pass. “The road is not normally this busy. It’s because there is a wedding in town,” Aisha says. When we ﬁnally arrive, the westering sun disappears behind the surrounding peaks, plunging Shimshal into freezing temperatures.

At dinner, I’m slurping steaming bowls of yak soup when Aisha shares that she has scored us invitations to the wedding. The next morning, attired in our ﬁnest thermals and puffer jackets, our crew sets off for the wedding reception. As we walk, I realise the bleating of goats has been replaced by a faint droning, which rises as we climb a crest at the edge of town. Below us is a large, cacophonous ring of people, with a small crowd dancing in the middle. Within minutes, we’re in the thick of it. Men bang dhol drums and string lutes, as groups take turns dancing in the middle. Older men wear traditional white pyjamas,

Fact ﬁle: Intrepid Travel’s 15-day Pakistan Expedition starts from NZ$6900 and includes most meals, transport and activities. See: intrepidtravel.com Getting there: Emirates and China Southern Airlines fly from Auckland to Islamabad with a stop. See: emirates.com; csair.com

Trekking through Ondra Fort.

while the young sport bright red Adidas jackets and sneakers. Women, who aren’t permitted to dance, stand at the circle’s edge waving their hands in unison with the music. A wedding photographer’s drone buzzes overhead. The bride, dressed in an intricate white lace dress, with henna tattoos on her hands, arrives to a crescendo. The wedding party sits at the edge of the circle and guests take turns handing their gifts to the gracious bride and groom. When my turn comes, I sheepishly hand over all the rupees I have (about NZ$25) and ask to take their photo. Suddenly, the music stops. The men and women peel off into different homes. Aisha explains that they traditionally feast separately. Being the only male in our group, there’s a dawning dread that I’m about to eat in a stranger’s home on my own when Aisha reveals she has landed me an honoured invitation to the women’s house. Humbled, I take a seat on the carpeted floor and dine on boiled goat neck, flatbread and a watery, hummus-like dip called “butt”. Afterwards, the women continue dancing and singing. In the hubbub, I meet Hussn Bibi, a Shimshal woman who studied in New Zealand, who guides me through the festivities. “The new road has brought medicine and supplies, and improved our quality of life, but it’s also drawing our young people away,” laments Hussn, explaining how Shimshal’s youth may one day grow tired of eating goat neck and prefer to seek out Islamabad’s bright lights. But such questions are for another time. Now we are filling a small house with singing, laughter and joy – having travelled 14,000 kilometres to celebrate love in a rare pocket of the world. The writer travelled as a guest of Intrepid Travel.

NZ Farmer

August 2026

28 Travel The White Pass and Yukon Route Railway weaves along dramatic cliffs. PHOTOS: BROOK SABIN

Alaska’s gold-rush railway Brook Sabin boards the White Pass and Yukon Route, high in the Alaskan mountains, for a train journey back through the Klondike gold rush.

e’re chugging through a winter wonderland, surrounded by snowcapped peaks and frozen lakes. It’s late spring at White Pass, Alaska – but nobody’s told the weather that. I’m on one of the world’s great scenic railways, which was carved into these mountains during the late 1890s. It was built to save Klondike gold prospectors – headed for the goldfields of Canada’s Yukon Territory – from hauling their supplies over White Pass, a brutal 873-metre mountain crossing on the Alaska-Canada border. The crossing was once nicknamed the “Dead Horse Trail” after thousands of pack animals died hauling gold-rush supplies over it. Today, 126 years later, we’re doing it in style. We stepped off the Star Princess, one of the world’s newest cruise ships, in Skagway – a tiny Alaskan port town of barely 1000 people that swells to more than a million cruise visitors every summer. For today’s adventure on the White Pass and Yukon Route Railway, we need our passports – this excursion crosses into Canada, tracing the route the prospectors once walked. Our trip begins on a bus, climbing straight out of Skagway and up into the mountains. It’s about an hour to reach the summit, which sits right on the Alaska-Canada border. That means a border officer jumps on the bus for a quick check of our passports. From there, we board a restored parlour car for our journey back down into Skagway – one of a fleet of vintage carriages, some dating back more than a century, each named after a Yukon lake or river. For the first half hour, we weave through a winter wonderland – snowy peaks dissolving into low cloud, and frozen lakes flashing past. It’s as if the entire world has gone two-tone: either white or grey. Then, as the train begins its descent,

Fact ﬁle: A seven-day Star Princess Inside Passage Alaska voyage (Seattle round trip) starts at about NZ$1966 per person for an Interior stateroom. See: princess.com for the latest pricing. Getting there: Air New Zealand has flights to Seattle in partnership with United Airlines via Vancouver, San Francisco and Los Angeles. See: airnewzealand.co.nz

Star Princess cruises Alaska’s Inside Passage.

From left: The railway line is busy, with locomotives heading in both directions. The train journey starts at the White Pass Summit. The trip ends in the tiny port town of Skagway.

we leave the cloud cover behind to reveal a dramatic cliffside railway. The view is everchanging. One moment, snow-covered peaks climb hundreds of metres above the track, and the next moment you’re level with a waterfall just a few metres away. Despite it being cold, the journey is super cosy, with little oil stoves roaring away and adding to the old-world railway feel.

If you need to awaken the senses, each carriage has an open deck at the front and rear. We arrive back in Skagway about three hours after leaving. We’re told by our guide that in 1897 this was a muddy tent city of a few hundred residents, but it had a huge inﬂux of people as gold-rush hopefuls poured off the boats, desperate for a way north. Our next stop is Dredge Town, a recreated gold-rush camp on the banks of the Skagway River. We’re treated to a

barbecue lunch before trying our hand at gold panning. We all find a little gold; I later find out the pay dirt is “infused” with flakes of real gold to make sure we all find some, but the thrill is still there. I didn’t strike it big, but I count myself very lucky to have done this trip. If there’s a better way to spend a day off a cruise ship, I haven’t found it yet. The author’s trip was supported by Princess Cruises.

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NZ Farmer

August 2026

30 Viticulture

How NZ viticulture is evolving Harvests have been good and the mood has picked up, even though tastes are changing and people are not buying as much as they used to. Aimee Shaw reports.

ine baroness Erica Crawford says the wine industry is at a crossroads, with international trade tariffs and changing consumer preferences creating difficult choices for operators. The co-founder and former owner of Kim Crawford Wines said the local industry was focused on innovation to see it grow through tough market conditions. Producers were having to do things differently to succeed in the current market, she said, including being more explicit in their labelling to better speak to consumers and selling into more markets to spread their risk. Crawford now owns Loveblock Wine, established 12 years ago after a ﬁve-year stand down period following the sale of Kim Crawford Wines. She said her organic and vegan wine brand was resonating with consumers, as part of the global trend towards health, wellness and people being more mindful about what they put into their bodies. “I’m fully into organics now, and after 12 years, I can see the world is ready for it. It is now a mainstream category, not just something on the side,” Crawford told The Press. Low-sugar wines are becoming popular too, causing experts to “cringe”. “But people are starting to speak differently,” she said. “That’s quite an interesting thing I’ve noticed in the last few years.” The wellness trend had forced winemakers in the direction of eliminating sulﬁtes and using tannins instead, and new creations and variations, including no-alcohol and low-alcohol options. “There are lots of fads that come and go. Low-alc and no-alc is here to stay.” New Zealand’s wine industry is made up of 700 wineries, most small owner-operators. Wine brands were now doing everything from infusing jalapeno into sauvignon blanc to using pea protein in the winemaking process, in part to be seen as different – and to stand out on the shelf, Crawford said. “Other things we’re seeing that are quite

Erica Crawford is the owner of wine brand Loveblock, which sources its grapes from vineyards in Marlborough and Central Otago.

exciting, and good for New Zealand, are that there’s a trend away from big red wines to lighter white wines, so that sits very well for us.” Self-proclaimed wine-lover and “amateur enthusiast” Rob Elliott, founder of annual industry event Winetopia, said New Zealand wine stood out on the global stage for both innovation and quality. He described the wine industry as in “fantastic” shape this season. Each year, wineries bring their best products to Winetopia for tastings and sales. The event draws upwards of 4000 consumers across two days for a wine discovery experience – this year on Friday and Saturday, August 7 and 8, at the Viaduct Events Centre in Auckland. “There has been some really good growing conditions in the last harvest, and so we’re looking forward to some of the new release whites, and some of the vintage reds,” said Elliott, who founded Winetopia in 2015. Even considering increasing cost pressures and global uncertainty, the industry was doing well – and continued to punch above its weight against international competitors, he added. “There is still demand for a high-quality product, that hasn’t gone away, but people’s ability to buy large quantities has dropped ... [and so] they’re not buying as

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much of it as they might have been. A lot of the pain in the industry is because of changing appetites, and New Zealand’s not coming off too bad from that.” Having the industry made up of mostly smaller operators who were innovative in their DNA gave the country’s offering an edge, Elliott said. Crawford said she was “not pessimistic” about the future for wine, even though price was top of mind for consumers right now. Despite last year being what she called “one of the most difficult years” in business, with many winemakers forced to leave grapes unharvested, Crawford said New Zealand sauvignon blanc was still growing at about 3% annually, and that was cause for optimism. However, proﬁtability in the industry was still being squeezed. Sarah Wilson, acting chief executive and general manager of advocacy at New Zealand Winegrowers, said ideal growing conditions had yielded another high-quality vintage, which was good for local wine companies. The 2026 vintage was a smaller harvest compared to the very large yield last year, and this was the result of wineries and growers carefully managing intake in response to current market conditions.

“New Zealand exports around 90% of its wine production, so our industry is affected by economic conditions and consumer conﬁdence in international markets,” Wilson said. “The large 2025 vintage created a temporary imbalance between supply and demand, which has been challenging for many growers and wineries. The smaller 2026 vintage will help restore that balance over time.” Higher tariffs, which add cost and risk limiting choice for consumers, had hit the United States market during the past 18 months, she said, but many of the country’s other large export markets had zero tariffs. Wilson said the recent signing of the India free-trade agreement would unlock one of the world’s largest and fastest-growing consumer markets – a positive and signiﬁcant long-term opportunity for wine operators. The wine industry would like the Government to introduce policy that supported businesses, avoiding unnecessary compliance costs and encouraging investment, innovation and growth, she said. Practical measures such as enabling electronic labelling would reduce costs for wineries while maintaining the information consumers need.

August 2026

NZ Farmer

Aquaculture NZ Farmer 31

Updated all day at

Pāua shells ‘magical’ blue gold Business

Katie Todd of RNZ

factory on a quiet street at the bottom of the South Island is selling an estimated one million pāua shells a year to buyers such as luxury fashion brands Chanel and Cartier and the Sultan of Oman. Ocean Shell Ltd in Riverton said rising live shellﬁsh exports and the country’s ban on the sale of recreational catch meant the company could not meet insatiable demand for the blue gold. Owner Nina Shields said international luxury status was attached to the iridescent ovals that many New Zealanders used as garden ornaments or repurposed for ashtrays. “Around here, you just see it lying around. People think it’s abundant, whereas outside of New Zealand, people really value it. They think it’s magical,” she said. The gap between local Pāua shells indifference and overseas transformed desire was exactly what into a veneer Shields’ father, Bruce sheet, which Shields, said he spotted in can be used 1992 when he took over for many the business from a local purposes. diver and began marketing directly to factories overseas, bypassing local brokers altogether. Before long, the part-time job grew into a big business handling 250 tonnes of shells a year, he said. “When I started, I knew nothing about pāua shell. I just saw it as a business opportunity and we became known as reliable, honest and trustworthy,” he said.

Pāua all over palace walls As well as pāua from around Aotearoa, Ocean Shell Ltd processes trochus shells from Papua New Guinea, which are used to make buttons, along with mother of pearl shells from pearl farms in Broome and Darwin and abalone varieties from South Africa, Japan, Australia and Chile. Inside the Riverton warehouse, staff dry, polish and grade the shells before shipping them to factories in South-East Asia for processing. The shells return to Riverton as veneer

over the past five years had pushed more shells straight onto overseas markets rather than New Zealand processing. “Historically, we’re getting the shell because the meat gets shucked from the shell. It goes into a can and then it’s sold. Now probably 40% is going live to Asia,” she said. New Zealand’s ban on selling recreationally harvested seafood meant Ocean Shell Ltd could not buy shells from recreational divers, Shields added. “That’s in place for good reason, not wanting to incentivise overfishing – but maybe one day in the future we can figure that out.” While there was not necessarily more demand for pāua shells, Shields said the constrained supply meant people were willing to pay about three times more than they were 10 years ago. “We’re getting inquiries weekly from new customers or new people that would like to buy large quantities of shell that we simply can’t supply because we’ve already sold what we have,” she said. “To me, it seems crazy that there’s literally money lying on the ground and we just can’t access it but the law is the law.”

Ocean Shell Ltd owner Nina Shields would like community groups to be able to collect and sell naturally beached pāua shells.

PHOTOS: KATIE TODD/RNZ

Bruce Shields, the founder of Ocean Shell Ltd, moves sacks of pāua.

sheets and are transformed into souvenirs and products in the company’s “arts and crafts room”, then sold through the business’s giftware and craft retailer Ocean Shell Studios. The business’s wholesale division Luméa sells whole shells, shell pieces and veneer sheets to customers around the globe, who transform them into furniture inlays, jewellery, luxury fashion accessories and packaging. “We work with a furniture fabrication company that’s based in Oman who does all the ﬁt outs for the royal family and they’ve got a thing for pāua. It is all over the palace walls,” she said. “Some of the mother of pearl powder

gets used in whitening face creams and we’ve also supplied mother of pearl powder to some medical companies that were using it for bone grafts. “So there are some pretty random uses.” Supply had been shrinking, Shields said. The company’s pāua exports – still the most sought-after shell – had dropped from about 200 tonnes a year to 100, or roughly one million shells. “We are struggling really from a supply perspective with the shell. We could sell way more,” she said. Shields said the overall volume of pāua being harvested had been falling because of regulatory and sustainability measures, while the rapid rise in live pāua exports

The Chatham Islands model – pāua shell pick-ups for community causes On the Chatham Islands, Shields said there was a special exemption to the ban on selling recreational catch. Locals were able to collect pāua shells that naturally washed up on beaches, sell them to Ocean Shell Ltd and direct the proceeds to local infrastructure and youth programmes. When Ocean Shell Ltd tried to run a similar drive in Southland to raise money to upgrade Colac Bay’s ageing surfer statue it could not get the idea across the line. “Unfortunately, they just had to run hundreds of quiz nights,” she said. If the Chatham Islands exemption was extended nationwide, Shields said Ocean Shell Ltd could buy about 300,000 shells a year worth $500,000. She said the money could go to community projects across the country and would give the Government a record of what recreational divers were harvesting. “We’d be collecting data that’s helpful for making sure the industry is sustainable, as well as supporting community. “I just think it would be amazing for community groups or non-government organisations to be able to have this funding stream.” It might also prompt New Zealanders to think differently about what they leave lying around, she said.

NZ Farmer

August 2026

32 On the Farm

Muster up The Downs

“Mum always has to get the gates,” says Annabelle Subtil’s daughter Emma. “It should be the younger ones getting all the gates ... but it’s always Mum because her horse is shorter than mine.”

At Ōmārama Station in Waitaki, the autumn muster is a much-anticipated event. This year, Annabelle Subtil, whose family have been on the 12,000ha high-country station for more than 100 years, was joined on horseback by her daughter Emma – something that hasn’t always been a given, in a family where leaving the farm for a time is as much a tradition as returning to it. By Felicity Connell.

efore ﬁrst light, a small team heads out and up. Everyone has their role – Annabelle Subtil’s husband Richard, 58, has already cooked a hearty pre-dawn breakfast, and son Henry, 26, one of two shepherds on the station, is corralling his dogs. There is also the other shepherd, Kaitlyn Moore, 22, the station’s stock manager Sam Keeling, 28, and a mate of his, Ben Dawson, 28, who has come down from rural Hawke’s Bay with his dogs to experience a muster down south. Growing Future Farmers students Jack Boon, 20, and Lucy Eason, 18, are also part of the autumn muster. It’s the bark-up – the cacophony of huntaways eager to get into their work – that signals the start of mustering about 2000 merinos off The Downs, which, at 1979 hectares, is the biggest block on Ōmārama Station. Over the course of the week, they’ll muster about 7500 sheep in total across various paddocks on the station. It’s part of the seasonal rhythm, bringing the sheep down from the hills, where they’ve spent a couple of months grazing

Emma on Giraffe and Annabelle on Lottie. “It is really, really special to be doing the muster with your daughter, and that we have such a shared passion – I’m so very grateful for that,” Annabelle says. PHOTOS: FRANCINE BOER PHOTOGRAPHY

after lambing and weaning, to lower grounds where supplementing their feed over winter is easier. This year, after a four-year absence, the team is joined by Annabelle’s daughter Emma, riding alongside her mother, working a familiar beat. But coming together for the muster isn’t the only family tradition Annabelle and Richard are passing on – supporting their children to look beyond the farm gates is another. Annabelle’s parents, Beth and Dick, encouraged her to travel overseas, as they themselves had done during the early 1960s before returning to New Zealand to get married and start their family. While on her OE, Annabelle met her United Kingdom-born husband Richard. The couple travelled extensively. “When we were living in Malaysia, the opportunity came up to come back to Ōmārama Station. For me, it was an easy decision because it was home. The reality was that when we moved back Emma was 3 months old and Richard would be out there on the farm. “He had worked for my parents previously, so he knew the property. I said it was his decision. He said: ‘Yep, absolutely. Let’s give it a go. We’ll give it ﬁve years.’ And we agreed that if it’s not working after ﬁve years, we would walk away with no regrets. Emma’s now 28.”

Emma, having grown up on the farm like her mum, has also spent time living and working overseas. “Mum and Dad have what we call the 10-year rule. So from ﬁnishing high school, you have to go away and give something else a crack. It could be something else in ag. It could be something else completely unrelated to farming – but just go away and see what else is out there, because it’s a big world. “I’ve just rolled over my 10 years – then come the questions, ‘So are you coming home – and when are you going to come?’” Henry returned to the farm as a shepherd just over a year ago, and Emma is now living in Amberley and working in Ōtautahi Christchurch for Zentera, recently rebranded from The New Zealand Merino Company. She’s returned after four years in Australia with her partner, Scott, 29, who is also a New Zealander. “We decided that 2026 was the year we would come home because the longer you stay away, the harder it is to leave where you are. And we both wanted to be home and closer to family and closer to farming.” The autumn muster is a family highlight. Annabelle remembers from childhood that for the week of the muster, the mustering team would base themselves from the “back hut,” about 10 kilometres from the homestead. “And then in the 1970s, after the building of the

hydro dams in the area, there was a lot of big machinery around, so there was an opportunity for a lot of farmers to put tracks in,” she says. “After that, musters became more homestead-based. They’d have an early breakfast and drive up to the top of the mountain and then walk down.” While Annabelle always had horses, they weren’t part of the muster. “We hadn’t used horses for the muster my whole childhood,” Emma says. “The last time was when they used to camp at the hut – around 50 years of no horses on the muster. So it’s a bit ‘back to the future’ that we are again using horses for this speciﬁc block, The Downs.” Reviving the tradition of using horses and staying in the back hut came about when the 2020 muster coincided with the nationwide Covid lockdown. Emma, then living in Christchurch, spent lockdown with her parents at Ōmārama Station. “I worked the whole time from home, and it was great because when I didn’t have corporate work to do, I would go help on the farm. Then we got to the muster and we couldn’t get the two or three casual shepherds in who would usually help us. We had our shepherd, his dad, his brother, me and Mum and Dad. And because we had so much time, we did a lot more on horses in general. We decided that we’d camp at the back hut, and that

August 2026

NZ Farmer

On the Farm 33

Updated all day at

Below: Emma, Annabelle, Richard and Henry at the back hut.

meant that we were already halfway out to the start of the block with the horses. So what started the horses back was needing to think outside the box, use what resources we had, and bring some fun and something to look forward to a bit as well,” Emma says. A successful muster comes down to good old-fashioned communication, according to Annabelle. “It’s a real challenge to work with your dogs and the environment to get the sheep down and to work as a team. You’ve got to communicate with the rest of the people mustering because you all have your beat – your route – but you have to work in and try and keep in line so that nobody gets too far ahead or behind. “If it comes together well, it’s a great feeling. If it doesn’t come together so well, it can be a real challenge – but still a good feeling to get off the hill at the end of the day.” Preparation is key, too. “When it goes well, it’s pure magic. It takes a lot of effort. effort. The team are always training their dogs after work and doing the mahi throughout the year to then put into practice in these big runs,” Emma says. “And then the horses enable us to cover more country quicker and easier than what we could on foot. The beat that Mum and I will have is above the track and it’s a lot of the top country – it’s quite downsy and a bit boggy. And so between us on the horses, we’ll be able to zigzag our way

Annabelle prepares bread. “It’s usually Dad who does breakfast ... There’s a lot of pressure on the person to have the eggs cooked well, the bacon not burnt,” Emma says.

it forward. And I think the generations through there versus if we’re just on foot.” have probably erred on the gentle side of While it’s something everyone looks farming, which means we have a property forward to, mustering is hard work, and with lots of really amazing attributes that comes with frustrations, like “rock sheep”. have been preserved. Emma says: “Someone on the radio “So a day doesn’t go by when saying, ‘You’ve got those sheep I don’t think about what the you’ve got to go get’, and then past generations have done you get in there and find – they are still as much a out they are rocks.” part of this property as And while technology the ones today.” can make a modern Passing on care of muster a bit easier, the land is something it’s the camaraderie Emma and Henry, as between the team the next generation to and the relationship be at Ōmārama Station, with their working are aware of, too. The animals that make the Downs block has been muster special. “Everyone placed under a QEII National is together and you’re all Trust Ngā Kairauhi Papa going up before the sun rises, covenant, in recognition travelling up to the top Growing Future Farmers cadet of the endangered and of the hill, then you all Jack Boon brings his own unique flora that grows get dropped off in your tradition to his second muster. there. different beats – and “There’s some really then you work together specific moss and plant types – it’s without being together. It’s the ultimate an ecologist’s heaven. That’s all down test for dogs and people and horses. to careful management over multiple “You can get fog and you can’t see generations, and we are really passionate anything – you have to wait it out and about being able to continue looking after communicate among yourselves. Then, it,” Emma says. when you all get down the bottom, it’s, “This is our moment in time, but we ‘How many sheep did we get?’ and, ‘Did are building on what has been done by we miss any?’ So, much anticipation and generations before us. We’re still using buildup, then you do what you can. There the woolshed that was put in in the are so many things out of your control, 1860s. What we are doing is setting up for but yeah, you’re all just working together generations to come. It’s really special to and on the radios and understanding be involved in the station and to have that where the person’s going to be and what kind of outlook passed down from my they’re going to be doing, and all pull your grandparents, and from Mum and Dad.” weight, hopefully,” Emma says. The autumn muster is another way for The family enjoys marrying new ways Annabelle and Emma to honour their with tradition, Annabelle says. “We use heritage. By bringing back horses to a combination of how it used to be done The Downs, they are reviving a family back in my grandfather’s day and then tradition – one that, despite long hours in a little bit of technology, like drones, the saddle, Emma is happy to be part of. coming in.” “You don’t actually get many chances Emma says: “It’s the best of both, to muster in this country. And so to be absolutely. You’ve got the dogs, horses, up there as the sun comes up and seeing hill sticks. Some things don’t change. We mobs of sheep camped up and then would have been walking around with streaming out back towards the gate, hill sticks 100 years ago as well. But we do that’s unique and so different to the dayembrace tech – we’ve also just put virtual to-day – that’s pretty special.” fencing collars on the cattle. So tech and stockmanship and hard work go really This story appears in the 2026 Takurua well together.” Winter edition of Shepherdess magazine, For Annabelle, the autumn muster is a out now. Find it in supermarkets, dairies time to reflect on her family’s legacy on and specialty book and design stores across the land. “The previous generations have the motu. Subscribe and order your copy been amazing in paying it forward. We’ve online at shepherdess.co.nz. tried to continue doing that – paying

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NZ Farmer

August 2026

34 Employment NZ Farmer

Getting ready for the spring Opinion

Check your employment documentation As farms prepare for increased activity, employers should also review employment agreements, workplace policies, position descriptions and record-keeping processes to ensure they remain current and compliant. Clear expectations and accurate documentation can help prevent misunderstandings during the busy season.

Ashlea Maley

hile winter often feels like a season of simply getting through the next cold morning, experienced farmers know that the decisions made now can have a signiﬁcant impact on the months ahead. Across Aotearoa, winter brings shorter days, wet conditions and a range of seasonal challenges. While the focus is often on keeping day-to-day operations running smoothly, many farms are also looking ahead to spring, when workloads increase, calving and lambing activities ramp up, and seasonal demands place additional pressure on both people and operations. This makes winter the ideal time to step back and ask an important question: Is your workforce ready for spring?

Winter conditions can create hidden workforce challenges When preparing for spring, it’s natural to focus on livestock, feed supplies, pasture management and equipment maintenance. However, a farm’s greatest asset remains its people. Winter can place signiﬁcant pressure on farm teams. Shorter daylight hours, cold weather and ongoing operational demands can all contribute to increased workloads. On smaller farms, where every team member plays a critical role, even a single absence can have a noticeable impact. Taking stock of workforce capacity now can help identify potential issues before spring workloads begin to increase. Plan your labour needs early As workloads increase, workforce gaps can quickly become operational headaches. Whether it’s ﬁnding skilled workers, managing annual leave or ensuring employees have the right experience, leaving workforce planning

Winter is the time to step back and ask: Is your workforce ready for spring?

until the busy season arrives can create unnecessary stress. If additional labour may be required, consider starting recruitment conversations now rather than competing for workers during peak seasonal demand. Training before the rush Spring can be one of the busiest periods of the farming calendar, making it difficult to ﬁnd time for training and development. Take advantage of quieter periods during winter to review training records, refresh safety procedures and ensure workers understand their responsibilities. This is particularly important for farms planning to bring on seasonal employees or workers who may be operating machinery, vehicles or specialised equipment. A well-trained workforce is not only safer but also more productive and conﬁdent when managing the demands of the season ahead. Don’t overlook fatigue risks Winter conditions can be physically demanding. Early starts, cold temperatures, unpredictable weather and long working

hours can all contribute to fatigue. While feeling tired is often considered part of farming life, fatigue can affect concentration, judgement and reaction times. As spring approaches and workloads increase, these risks can become even more signiﬁcant. Now is a good time to review work schedules, ensure adequate breaks are being taken and encourage open conversations about wellbeing. Building good habits during winter can help reduce the likelihood of fatigue-related incidents during busier months. Review health and safety systems With spring workloads on the horizon, winter presents a valuable opportunity to review workplace health and safety systems. Consider whether: ■ Risk assessments are up to date. ■ Emergency procedures remain effective. ■ Training records are current. ■ New hazards have emerged during winter operations. ■ Workers understand reporting processes and responsibilities.

Strong leadership makes a difference Spring can place signiﬁcant pressure on farm owners, managers and supervisors. The most successful teams are often those where communication is clear, expectations are understood and challenges are addressed early. Winter provides a valuable opportunity to discuss seasonal priorities, clarify responsibilities and ensure leaders have the tools they need to support their teams during busy periods. Regular communication can help strengthen team performance and ensure everyone is working towards the same goals when spring arrives. The farms that thrive plan ahead While winter may feel like a season of endurance, it is also a season of preparation. The farms that tend to perform best during spring are rarely the ones scrambling to solve workforce challenges at the last minute. They are the ones that have invested time in planning ahead, training their people and reviewing their systems before workloads begin to escalate. By taking action during winter, farmers can enter spring with greater conﬁdence, knowing their people, processes and safety systems are ready for the season ahead. Ashlea Maley is the director of operations for Peninsula New Zealand. For further information or advice on HR and health and safety, visit peninsulagrouplimited.co.nz.

Skin grafts needed after welding burn injury This article is part of the Safety Alert series: learnings from real-life incidents that have happened on farms. They are part of Safer Farms’ Farm Without Harm strategy and action plan, which has been developed by the agriculture sector, for the agriculture sector. Health and safety

farmer who thought they had put adequate safety measures in place for a welding job suffered a severe burn, requiring skin grafts when their trousers caught alight. They have now shared their experience of the incident, in which welding spatter ignited the fabric, as the latest safety alert from Safer Farms. The farmer, who describes themselves as “a casual welder”, was doing repairs outdoors on a hot day on a tipper trailer drawbar, which had some rust on it, resulting in spatter. Normally, they would have placed a bucket of water close at hand when welding, but on this occasion they considered the outside hose to be an adequate safety measure. They usually wore heavy cotton trousers for welding but had on a different pair that day, thinking they were cotton too. However, they were made of mostly synthetic fabric and were also a bit long, which created cuffs that caught the spatter.

The job was proving bigger than expected, and the farmer hadn’t taken any breaks and, in their words, was “really going for it” until they noticed heat on their leg, looked down and saw their trousers were on fire. While the farmer’s thick woollen socks, worn under the trousers, protected their shins, the socks also masked the fire until it got above the sock line. Their immediate response was to use the hose on the flames, but the water took a while to come through the long length, during which time the fire spread, causing a significant injury. In hindsight, the farmer says they should have disconnected the hose and used the tap directly, but that it wasn’t easy to think clearly when making a split-second decision in a crisis situation with their trousers on fire. While there was a fire extinguisher in a shed and a water trough nearby, both would have taken too long to reach. The farmer has since increased their welding skills and will get expert help when they need it. Safety alerts can be downloaded as

Who are we? Safer Farms is a membership organisation that recognises the whole sector beneﬁts from improved health and safety. It brings together farmers and senior leaders from agribusiness, agricultural industry groups and government. Its Safety Alerts series documents real-life incidents, distilling key lessons from farmers into concise, one-page handouts for managers to use in safety discussions with their teams. Safety alerts are a great way to learn

The leg injury caused by the welding spatter.

easy-to-read, one-page handouts and shared with farm teams to promote discussions about safety. This particular alert can be used to talk about key safety approaches, including: ■ If you’re going to break your routine or change the gear you normally use, ask yourself: “What’s different today and

from incidents that have happened on other farms. Ask yourself: ■ Could this happen on my farm? ■ What do I have in place to prevent this from happening? ■ How can I implement these learnings? To view Safer Farms’ safety alerts, please visit farmwithoutharm.org.nz/safety-alerts. Alerts can be printed out for use in training and discussions. There is an option to be emailed when new alerts are added. how does that change what I do to work safely?” ■ Use welding PPE, not ordinary work clothes – proper welding trousers, leather protection, gloves, boots and spats. ■ Work within your abilities. Experience doesn’t always equal ability, so be realistic about your skill level and whether you’re prepared to take the time to do it safely, with the right PPE, within a safe environment. ■ Prepare the job before welding. Clean away rust, paint, oil, grease and other contamination. Poor preparation can increase spatter. ■ Be aware that welding creates a range of hazards, especially fumes. ■ Check your work area after welding for spatter, because it can smoulder in clothing, rubbish and dry grass.

August 2026

NZ Farmer

ADVERTORIAL

Tomorrow’s herd starts today: Choosing a calf meal that delivers beyond weaning By Simon Butler, Nutrition Extension Specialist, SealesWinslow.

Crude protein is exactly what its name suggests: a crude estimate of protein content based on nitrogen composition. It tells us very little about whether that protein content actually contains true protein i.e., peptide chains of amino acids, how digestible it is to the developing ruminant, or whether its amino acid profile meets the calf’s requirements. This is why the protein source is often more important than the crude protein number itself. High-quality ingredients such as soya bean meal and canola meal provide highly digestible true protein that better supports growth than lower-quality protein sources that may inflate crude protein figures without delivering the same nutritional value.

The numbers worth asking for When comparing calf meals, here are the specifications that matter.

Calf rearing is one of the biggest opportunities to influence the future performance of the herd. The growth achieved during a calf’s first months has lasting impacts on milk production, fertility and longevity, with missed liveweight targets often difficult and expensive to recover later. To stay on track, replacement heifers should reach around 30% of mature liveweight by six months, 60% by 15 months and 90% by first calving. Failure to do so could cost you 100’s of dollars per animal for each of the first 3 lactations. Calf meal plays a major role in helping calves transition onto, and thrive as, functioning ruminants on a forage diet. Choosing the right one can contribute directly to smoother weaning transitions and continued average daily gain on pasture, allowing calves to consistently achieve these key milestones.

What is calf meal actually doing?

Calf meal serves several major purposes within a calf rearing system. Firstly, it provides the early substrates needed for the proliferation of rumen microbes. To accelerate rumen development, a calf meal must be high in readily fermentable non-fibre carbohydrate, otherwise known as starch. The pre-ruminant foregut is not yet equipped to efficiently digest plant fibre (NDF). Instead, starch provides the accessible energy that rumen microbes require to produce volatile fatty acids (VFAs), particularly butyrate.

Butyrate is the preferred energy source for developing rumen tissue, stimulating the growth of rumen papillae and increasing the calf’s capacity to digest forage. The earlier the rumen develops, the greater the feed intake and growth we see as milk allowance is reduced. Quality roughage, such as hay, should also be available, as it supports the physical and behavioural development of rumination while encouraging rumen capacity. Beyond rumen development, calf meal also replaces the nutrients that are progressively removed as milk feeding is reduced. This means supplying not only highly digestible energy, but also high-quality plant protein and a practical delivery system for proven performance additives such as coccidiostats, prebiotics and essential oils. Incorporating these additives into the calf meal reduces labour while helping support calf health and growth through the weaning period.

Don’t be fooled by crude protein alone One of the most common misconceptions is assuming that a crude protein percentage of 20% automatically means a quality meal.

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Below 20%, ideally 15–18%

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Under 4%

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Crude protein

Approximately 20%, supplied from highly digestible sources such as soya bean meal and canola meal

These specifications work together rather than in isolation. A formulation with moderate fibre, controlled fat, high starch and quality digestible protein naturally delivers metabolisable energy and protein in the forms young calves can utilise most effectively. Looking beyond a single specification gives a far more accurate indication of how a calf meal is likely to perform through weaning and onto pasture. Farmers should feel confident asking these questions of their suppliers, including us. Understanding what sits behind the label allows more informed decisions and ultimately contributes to a smoother weaning transition, stronger growth and better long-term herd performance. We formulated Calf Max to these exact principles, providing the balance of energy, digestible protein and proven additives needed to support calves through weaning and beyond. The calf that hits her weight targets this year is the cow that’s still working for you years from now.

NZ Farmer

August 2026

36 On the Farm

Farm ownership dream now a reality for family

Waikato

Charlotte Graham

or Alister Stewart, buying his first farm is not only the fulfilment of a lifelong dream, it’s about honouring his parents’ legacy. “The important thing for me was to turn the death of my parents into something positive and move forward. “They worked really hard and sacrificed a lot of their time to give me good opportunities. I want to take that to the next level and it would be a poor repayment for me not to.” Stewart, 35, and his wife Kylie, 38, bought their first dairy farm in Waikato this year and reckon life since has been like “skipping through a field of tulips”, despite the “eye watering” mortgage. This comes at a time when dairy farm sales are strong after a healthy season for farmers. After growing up on his father’s farm before it was sold and later helping out on his uncle’s dairy farm milking, Stewart said he always wanted to return to farming. It was a desire that grew after the death of his parents, who had originally planned to go into partnership with him and Kylie. Stewart has named his farm Ridgeway Natural Farms in honour of his dad’s original farm. After dabbling in a social sciences degree, studying organics and working in kiwifruit orchards, he started working as a farm assistant in his early 20s and planned to work his way up to ownership through contract and sharemilking. However, when he inherited his parents’ home, he and Kylie decided to sell it and their own Hamilton house, “get a monster mortgage” and have a crack at dairy farming. “It didn’t feel like good luck to us ... but we consider ourselves lucky that we didn’t have to go through the traditional pathway of uprooting our family for contract milking.” The couple put in an offer on the farm at the end of last year and took over on June 1. They now milk 226 jersey cows on the 78-hectare property and have a 30-a-side herringbone shed.

Alister Stewart loves his cows. One of his favourite parts of farming is going out in the paddock for scratches.

Kylie and Alister Stewart with their children Thomas and Charlotte. The couple have bought their first farm in Waikato this year.

PHOTOS: CHRISTEL YARDLEY/WAIKATO TIMES

He said the price, infrastructure and ﬁve-bedroom home attracted them to the property in the Matamata-Piako district. There were multiple parties interested in the property, but they scooped it up for $3.25 million. He reckoned it made ﬁnancial sense for him to buy a smaller farm and said if he was alive for the next 50 years, he’d still be on this land. “It’s a beautiful farm that just needs polishing ... there is a lot of work to do, but we both saw the potential.” Fencing, planting natives and weed control were all priorities for the next year to restore the farm to its former glory. Stewart said he saw himself as a “landscape ecologist” rather than just

a farmer and planned to run the farm spray-free, focusing on soil health to rebalance the farm’s biodiversity and reduce weeds. He loved problem solving and was excited to be restoring the land. One thing he was looking forward to was planting hundreds of native trees along the waterways. Kylie described the deal going through as “exciting but daunting”, though they wouldn’t have had it any other way. Stewart added: “I would encourage other people to buy if they’re able to. The ability to make my own schedule is massive and that’s been a lovely consideration for us as a family. “If I need to go to town or take my

wife out for lunch, I don’t have to ask anybody’s permission.” Bayleys agent Dave Kilbride noted that there had been strong farm sales over the last year. “Generally, there are more people inquiring and turning up to open days. “That’s a big difference to a couple of years ago when the intermediaries and bankers would turn up, but there weren’t many serious buyers.” The Real Estate Institute of New Zealand’s rural and lifestyle report for the year to March 2026 highlighted a year-on-year increase of 34.4% in Waikato dairy farm sales from 61 to 82. The median price a hectare was $45,550, up 2.1%.

August 2026

Diary 37

Updated all day at

What’s on ... ● August 2: Rural Support Trust and Beef + Lamb NZ

Skiing for Farmers, Canterbury and Otago Skiing for Farmers is back for 2026 and Otago Rural Support Trust has again teamed up with the crew at Ōhau, which has come up with an awesome deal that will have you tearing up the slopes whether you are a ﬁrst-timer or have some experience under your belt. Info at beeﬂambnz.com/events

● August 10: B+LNZ

Farming for Profit field day, Gisborne/Hawke’s Bay, Tararua/Wairarapa High-performing teams don’t happen ● by chance – they’re built on strong leadership, clear and timely feedback and understanding what makes people tick. Info at beeflambnz.com/events

● August 11: B+LNZ

● August 3-20: B+LNZ

Brunch on Us, Northland Brunch on Us is a series of informal gatherings being held across rural communities, providing an opportunity to enjoy a complimentary brunch, meet new people and hear about the support and resources available in your region. Info at beeﬂambnz.com/events

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● August 5: B+LNZ

Still Standing, Still Growing workshop for Rural Women, Oamaru A practical, down-to-earth workshop designed specifically for sheep and beef farming women who are ready to pause, reflect and move forward with confidence. Info at beeflambnz.com/events

● August 6: B+LNZ

Farming for Profit field day, Tasman Boosting kilograms of product out the gate is one of the fastest ways to lift profitability, and this afternoon event is all about practical, on-farm actions to help you do it. Info at beeflambnz.com/events

NZ Farmer

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session is focused on three years of DairyBase benchmarking insights from Southland and Otago. Info at dairyevents.co.nz

August 13: B+LNZ

Rapid Relief Team’s Farmers Community Connect, Martinborough RRT is heading to Martinborough to support ﬂood-affected farmers in South Wairarapa by donating fencing packs, which include posts, battens and wire. Info at rrtglobal.org/nz

region ahead of the spring season. Info at irpnz.co.nz

● August 30: B+LNZ

Shepherd to Shareholder focus group Expressions of interest open for Central/Mid Canterbury farmers. Info at beeﬂambnz.com/events

● August 31: B+LNZ

Young Farmer Development Scholarship, Otago and Southland The Southern South Island (SSI) Young Farmer Development Scholarship aims to identify, recognise and support emerging leaders within the sheep and beef sector. The scholarship invests in the professional development of young farmers who demonstrate commitment to the industry and a desire to build their skills, knowledge, leadership capability and inﬂuence. Info at beeﬂambnz.com/events

Summer Forage Crop workshop, Otago With stronger red meat schedules, increasing drench resistance, and ● August 13, 25 and 27: DairyNZ the need to develop sustainable and Rural Professionals event: Working profitable farm systems, now is the time Together for a Better Farming Future, to explore new forage options. Taranaki, Wairarapa and Manawatū Info at beeflambnz.com/events Be part of meaningful conversations that support and strengthen the rural August 11: B+LNZ industry. Shepherds’ Day, Waikato/King Info at dairyevents.co.nz Country/Bay of Plenty, Taranaki and Manawatū-Whanganui/Wellington This is for entry-level young shepherds ● August 17, 18, 26 and 27: B+LNZ Mastering your Farm Financial wanting to learn more about dogs. workshops, Otago and Southland ● September 1: B+LNZ Info at beeflambnz.com/events This workshop is open to all farming Focus group for Bay of Plenty businesses utilising farm accounting beef farmers, BOP August 11, 12 and 26: B+LNZ software. Expressions of interest open for our Red-meat Sector Outlook Dinners, Info at beeflambnz.com/events Integrated Cattle Parasite Management Pio Pio, Te Akau and Rotorua Focus Group. Join us for an evening with Rabobank’s ● August 25: NZ Institute of Info at beeflambnz.com/events Jen Corkran and B+LNZ’s Phil Weir. Primary Industry Management Info at beeflambnz.com/events ● September 1: B+LNZ Economic Update and Networking, Focus groups for Northland farmers Bay of Plenty August 12 and 13: Institute Expressions of interest open for Join the Bay of Plenty branch for a of Rural Professionals NZ B+LNZ’s Shepherd to Shareholder and networking event, hosted by ANZ, and DairyNZ Technology Innovation focus groups. featuring an economic update from the Benchmarking for Better Info at beeflambnz.com/events bank’s chief economist, Sharon Zollner. Performance: DairyBase Insights This session provides an opportunity to from Southland and Otago hear current economic insights and what Registration is essential for many events. A joint DairyNZ and IRPNZ event they may mean for the rural sector, while Check out the various websites for more featuring regional benchmarking also connecting with others in your events. insights and economic outlooks. This

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120 YEARLING ANGUS BULLS at our Annual On Farm Sale and Hybrid Auction

1 Sept 2026, at 12pm Chris & Karren Biddles, RD1, Te Kopuru, Northland m: 021 795 929 e: chris@teatarangi.co.nz

NZ Farmer

August 2026

FOR SALE FIRST TIME FOR SALE • This 43 Ha property is located in the Tangimoana district of the Manawatu. • It was farmed as a family dairy farm and now runs dairy replacements. • With a mix of contour and soil types it is well suited for wintering stock as well as grazing, with good bore water. • Original 1970, three bedroom family home along with a disused dairy, two hay sheds, machinery shed and stock loading facilities, yards and head bail. • This farm has been in the family for several generations, so this is your chance to own it.

• Tenders close 28th August 2026 Open Farm Dates: • Saturday 25th July 12 noon to 1pm. • Thursday 30th July 12 noon to 1pm.

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CROPPING OR FATTENING ON KAIRANGA SOILS •

Situated on the renowned Lockwood Road in the Kairanga is this flat 13.55 ha property with Kairanga Silt Loam soils.

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With excellent road frontage and a handy location to both Palmerston North and Feilding.

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Fenced into five main paddocks with a very good race running along the boundary for good access. The property features an artesian bore supply.

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Currently fattening cattle and has been growing maize silage with crops harvested in excess of 26 tonne/ha.

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If you are looking for a handy block to run cattle or heifer replacements, grow baleage, hay or maize then this could be your chance. Call Les to inspect and discuss your options on 0274 420 582

OUTSTANDING RIVER SILT SOILS •

Great block of highly productive river silt soils just out of Bulls.

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Has a history of vegetable growing, lamb fattening and bull farming.

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Facilities include bore water, good cattle yards, power and an elevated building site with views over the whole property.

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With 22ha freehold and 5.6ha of River Accretion this is a very good sheltered block with good location to winter your stock. Being offered with a 1st November 2026 takeover.

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If you are looking for a good sized handy block with exceptional soils then this could be what you have been looking for, sounds like you? Call Les to inspect and discuss your options on 0274 420 582

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August 2026

NZ Farmer

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August 2026