Dairy unity
OPINION: A last-minute compromise ensured that the election of the new Federated Farmers national dairy chair wasn't a repeat of the Super 15 rugby final - Canterbury versus Waikato.
OPINION: Results of regional New Zealand Dairy Industry Awards (NZDIA) are trickling in but there's a worrying trend emerging.
Two of the first four regional results for the flagship Share Farmer of the Year competition - namely Auckland/Hauraki and Hawke's Bay/Wairarapa - noted that "due to the minimum number of finalists not being reached, entrant scores were benchmarked against the national average with data collated from the 10 other regions".
Taranak and Manawatu attracted enough finalists. Why is this happening?
Hats off though to the NZDIA Trust for introducing two new awards - Fonterra & ASB First Farm Award and the ASB Alumni of the Year Award.
The awards showcase the industry's best, and we know there's no shortage of award-winning young farmers in the industry.
However, we must keep the interest alive in young farmers to participate in the awards.
Questions are being raised about just how good the state of the dairy industry is - especially given that the average farmgate payout for the coming season is set to exceed $10/kgMS.
A leading financial and banking advisor says he doubts if most dairy farmers fully understand the dynamics of banking.
Dairy farmers are shoring up their balance sheets, with almost $1.7 billion of debt repaid in the six months to March 2025.
Virtual fencing company Halter is going global but for founder Craig Piggott, New Zealand farmers will always remain their main partners.
A former Fonterra executive is the new chair of the Dairy Companies Association of New Zealand (DCANZ).
New Federated Farmers national dairy chair Karl Dean is looking forward to tackling the issues facing the sector.