110,000 visitors!
OPINION: It's official, Fieldays 2025 clocked 110,000 visitors over the four days.
OPINION: So, Fonterra believes New Zealand has reached peak milk.
Environmental restrictions ar impacting on how much more land the dairy industry could occupy. Dairy conversions have dried off while the amount of dairy land is also shrinking. Some farmers had converted land from dairying to forestry or horticulture, or in some cases housing or even solar farms.
So, with new milk processing plants still being built in NZ's dairy heartland, what does this mean? It means older, inefficient plans may be forced to shut down. And with Fonterra owning the most number of old plants in the country, this scenario doesn't bode well for the co-operative.
Six industry organisations, including DairyNZ and the Dairy Companies Association (DCANZ) have signed an agreement with the Ministry for Primary Industries (MPI) to prepare the country for a potential foot and mouth outbreak.
The 2026 Red Dairy Cow conference will be hosted by New Zealand in March.
While global dairy commodity prices continue to climb in most key exporting countries, the second half of the year is expected to bring increased downside risks.
In a surprise move, Federated Farmers meat and wool group has dumped its chair Toby Williams.
Former MP and Southland farmer Eric Roy has received the Outstanding Contribution to New Zealand’s Primary Industries Award.
OPINION: Good times are coming back for the primary industries. From sentiment expressed at Fieldays to the latest rural confidence survey results, all indicate farmer confidence at a near-record high.