Editorial: RMA reforms uproar
OPINION: The euphoria over the Government’s two new bills to replace the broken Resource Management Act is over.
The hunt is on for the latest crop of innovators who have helped lift New Zealand’s reputation for producing high quality foods and fibres to even greater heights.
The fifth annual Primary Industries New Zealand Awards will be held in Wellington on July 3, a highlight of the two-day PINZ Summit.
“The hard graft and long hours that our farmers, growers and processors put in is the core reason food and fibre make up more than 80% of the nation’s merchandise exports,” Federated Farmers chief executive Terry Copeland says.
“But giving us that edge in highly competitive international markets, and helping us meet environmental, biosecurity and other challenges are those researchers, technologists, cross-sector collaborations and producers who find better ways of doing things.
“They’re the sector champions that the PINZ Awards acknowledge and celebrate.”
"The individuals and teams who go the extra mile deserve recognition and by promoting our primary sector role models, we can stimulate greater involvement and interest in primary industries from graduates, investors, politicians and the media," Copeland says.
The deadline for nominations is 29 March.
Global trade has been thrown into another bout of uncertainty following the overnight ruling by US Supreme Court, striking down President Donald Trump's decision to impose additional tariffs on trading partners.
Controls on the movement of fruit and vegetables in the Auckland suburb of Mt Roskill have been lifted.
Fonterra farmer shareholders and unit holders are in line for another payment in April.
Farmers are being encouraged to take a closer look at the refrigerants running inside their on-farm systems, as international and domestic pressure continues to build on high global warming potential (GWP) 400-series refrigerants.
As expected, Fonterra has lifted its 2025-26 forecast farmgate milk price mid-point to $9.50/kgMS.
Bovonic says a return on investment study has found its automated mastitis detection technology, QuadSense, is delivering financial, labour, and animal-health benefits on New Zealand dairy farms worth an estimated $29,547 per season.

OPINION: Here w go: the election date is set for November 7 and the politicians are out of the gate…
OPINION: ECan data was released a few days ago showing Canterbury farmers have made “giant strides on environmental performance”.