Two new awards open to help young farmers progress to farm ownership
Entries have opened for two awards in the New Zealand Dairy Industry Awards (NZDIA) programme, aimed at helping young farmers progress to farm ownership.
Fonterra has launched its ‘carbonzero’ certified NZMP organic butter to the North American market, the first such ingredient product in its portfolio.
Kelvin Wickham, chief executive Fonterra Africa, Middle East, Europe, North Asia, Americas (AMENA), says that ‘carbonzero’ ingredients, like NZMP organic butter, can help unlock real benefits for customers.
“It helps them to meet their sustainability targets, signal environmental values, and grow brand preference and market share through differentiated products,” he says.
“Fonterra New Zealand dairy farming already has one of the world’s lowest on-farm carbon footprints, approximately one third of the global average, putting NZMP in a strong position to offer sustainability solutions that help customers reduce their environmental impact, while claiming an advantage in the market.”
To become ‘carbonzero’ certified, Fonterra has partnered with an independent company called Toitu Envirocare. This company measures the impact of producing the NZMP organic butter, all the way from farm and manufacturing, through to distribution and even the disposal of packaging by customers.
“Understanding our footprint means we can offset our impact with high quality carbon credits from projects, including native forest regeneration in New Zealand and gold standard renewable energy projects,” says Wickham.
Lara Phillips, senior manager of Fonterra Sustainability Solutions says it is delighted to be to offer NZMP customers a way to contribute to a lower carbon future.
NZMP organic butter ‘carbonzero’ certified is currently available to customers in the US. Over time, to support customer needs and demand, NZMP will look to broaden the portfolio to more product categories and regions.
New Zealand's new Special Agricultural Trade Envoy, Horowhenua dairy farmer, company director and former Minister of Agriculture, Nathan Guy says the Free Trade Agreement (FTA) with India is a good deal for the country.
New figures show dairy farmers are not only holding on to their international workforce, but are also supporting those staff to step into higher-skilled roles on farm.
New tractor deliveries for 2025 jumped 10% compared to the previous year, a reflection of the positive primary sector outlook, according to the Tractor and Machinery Association (TAMA).
Entries have opened for two awards in the New Zealand Dairy Industry Awards (NZDIA) programme, aimed at helping young farmers progress to farm ownership.
Federated Farmers has confirmed interim chief executive Mike Siermans to the role.
Registrations are now open for the 2026 Ruralco Golf Classic, with all proceeds from the event set to support the Mid Canterbury Rural Support Trust.