Falling on-farm inflation and stable prices lift farmer confidence
The days of rising on-farm inflation and subdued farmgate prices are coming to an end for farmers, helping lift confidence.
Software specialist Company-X is acquiring advertising agency Hot Mustard's app developing business.
The acquisition on September 1 comes after Hot Mustard's Sales App Centre managing director Paul Bell sought Company-X out.
"We were a specialist software company focused on agribuiness with a small team looking for an opportunity to work with a larger development company with more expertise and resources," Bell says.
"One of the reasons we approached Company-X is that is has some agribusiness clients, and a very good understanding of the agribusiness sector."
DeLaval, the worldwide leader in milking equipment and solutions is a long-term Company-X client. Company-X built a global e-learning solution for DeLaval. Company-X used the text to voice editor it built, Voxcoda, to provide narration in multiple languages.
Sales App Centre was incorporated in March 2012 and developed the first mobile apps for Ballance Agri Nutrients, DairyNZ and Zespri International.
"We specialise in apps for agribusiness," Bell said. "Including a lot of farmer-facing apps that need to work in the field where there is no internet connectivity."
Other Sales App Centre clients include CRV Ambreed, Farmlands Co-op Society, Giltrap Engineering and Primary ITO, Company-X will assume responsibility for app and systems development, including the associated databases and application programming interface (APIs).
Hot Mustard's new business unit Hum will retain responsibility for website development.
Bell said Sales App Centre clients could only benefit from the acquisition, as they will be working with a larger, better resources, broadly experience team, with a proven software development track record. Company-X also had comprehensive testing and support services.
Company-X co-founder and director Jeremy Hughes says while Hot Mustard's key strength is media and design, having Company-X own the software development space lets the two companies work to their respective strengths.
The days of rising on-farm inflation and subdued farmgate prices are coming to an end for farmers, helping lift confidence.
A blockbuster year and an exciting performance: that's how Ministry for Primary Industries (MPI) Director General, Ray Smith is describing the massive upsurge in the fortunes of the primary sector exports for the year ended June 2025.
Federated Farmers president Wayne Langford says the 2025 Fieldays has been one of more positive he has attended.
A fundraiser dinner held in conjunction with Fieldays raised over $300,000 for the Rural Support Trust.
Recent results from its 2024 financial year has seen global farm machinery player John Deere record a significant slump in the profits of its agricultural division over the last year, with a 64% drop in the last quarter of the year, compared to that of 2023.
An agribusiness, helping to turn a long-standing animal welfare and waste issue into a high-value protein stream for the dairy and red meat sector, has picked up a top innovation award at Fieldays.