Buttery prize
OPINION: Westland Milk may have won the contract to supply butter to Costco NZ but Open Country Dairy is having the last laugh when it comes to cashing in on NZ grass-fed butter.
The country's second-largest dairy processor says its supply chain is being managed tightly around the Covid-19 outbreak.
Covid-19 is forecast to strip more than $1.3 billion dollars off New Zealand’s primary exports in the coming year, including $390 million off dairy exports.
Open Country Dairy chief executive Steve Koekemoer says so far the outbreak hasn’t impacted demand for its products.
“Our products have continued to move relative freely into market. “Clearly, we share the concern within the industry regarding ongoing disruption with availability of containers and potential restrictions at ports going forward.
“With us heading into the tail end of the season, we expect the short-term impact to be minor and with that are turning our focus to next season.”
Koekemoer says dairy pricing has come under pressure over the past few weeks due to the Covid-19 impact but with the limited supply due to the dry weather, OCD is maintaining its current forecast.
OCD will hold supplier meetings later this month where farmers will be updated on the impact of coronavirus.
Following a recent overweight incursion that saw a Mid-Canterbury contractor cop a $12,150 fine, the rural contracting industry is calling time on what they consider to be outdated and unworkable regulations regarding weight and dimensions that they say are impeding their businesses.
Trade Minister Todd McClay says his officials plan to meet their US counterparts every month from now on to better understand how the 15% tariff issue there will play out, and try and get some certainty there for our exporters about the future.
A landmark New Zealand trial has confirmed what many farmers have long suspected - that strategic spring nitrogen use not only boosts pasture growth but delivers measurable gains in lamb growth and ewe condition.
It was recently announced that former MP and Southland farmer Eric Roy has stepped down of New Zealand Pork after seven years. Leo Argent talks with Eric about his time at the organisation and what the future may hold.
It's critical that the horticulture sector works together as part of a goal to double the sector’s exports by 2035.
RaboResearch, the research arm of specialist agriculture industry banker Rabobank, sees positives for the Alliance Group in its proposed majority-stake sale to Ireland's Dawn Meats.