$150B farm succession challenge looms for NZ agriculture
Within the next 10 years, New Zealand agriculture will need to manage its largest-ever intergenerational transfer of wealth, conservatively valued at $150 billion in farming assets.
Rabobank says the relocation of the bank's head office to Hamilton marks a new chapter for the bank.
Rabobank New Zealand chief executive Todd Charteris says the bank is now located at heart of the vibrant Waikato food and agri region.
"The new Rabobank Centre will be a place where our employees, farmers and community leaders can come together to share ideas to further advance the industry and to help the bank's clients achieve their goals," he says.
"But this is about much more than opening a new office. It's about making a statement about who we are and what we stand for.
"It's about helping us embed a minset across out business centred on getting closer to our clients regardless of where we work across New Zealand, so we can make even better and more effective decisions for them."
Charteris says the Waikato is a real hub for food and agri innovation and development.
"We feel we are now ideally positioned to support our clients and to further grow our New Zealand business."
The new head office in Union Square houses employees: 50 head office staff based in Wellington previously joined in the new building by members of the Waikato regional team who had previously been based in the bank's Hamilton office on London Street.
The team meeting at the Culverden Hotel was relaxed and open, despite being in the middle of calving when stress levels are at peak levels, especially in bitterly cold and wet conditions like today.
A comment by outspoken academic Dr Mike Joy suggesting that dairy industry leaders should be hanged for nitrate contamination of drinking/groundwater has enraged farmers.
OPINION: The phasing out of copper network from communications is understandable.
Driven by a lifelong passion for animals, Amy Toughey's journey from juggling three jobs with full-time study to working on cutting-edge dairy research trials shows what happens when hard work meets opportunity - and she's only just getting started.
The New Zealand Fish & Game Council has announced a leadership change in an effort to provide strategic direction for the sector and support the implementation of proposed legislative changes.
AgFirst, New Zealand's largest independent agribusiness consultancy, is turning 30 - celebrating three decades of "trusted advice, practical solutions, and innovative thinking".
OPINION: The Gene Technology Bill has divided the farming community with strong arguments on both the pros and cons of…
OPINION: Fonterra's $4.22 billion consumer business sale to Lactalis is ruffling a few feathers outside the dairy industry.