Silver Fern Farms roadshow highlights global demand
The second event in the Silver Fern Farms ‘Pasture to Plate Roadshow’ landed in Feilding last week, headed by chair and King Country farmer, Anna Nelson, and chief executive Dan Boulton.
Silver Fern Farms’ chairman Rob Hewett has effectively backed himself and Herstall Ulrich in the director election requesting a vote for “no change” to the board.
The cooperative’s debt reduction and Plate-to-Pasture programmes are “winning strategies” and it is important they are not derailed, he told Rural News.
“We want to invest more in the revenue growth parts of our business, driving our consumer and hotel-restaurant offers into selected high-potential markets around the world.”
The $100m capital raise that Goldman Sachs is scoping for the cooperative would drive such investment, as well as debt reduction, and shareholders will be kept informed and given a clear investment value proposition when appropriate, he says.
“Increased equity is investment in growth and at the same time as paying down debt, turbo-charges the business.”
Hewett acknowledges industry restructure “remains to be dealt with” and says SFF is committed to “sensible rationalisation discussions” with any industry participant.
Legal controls on the movement of fruits and vegetables are now in place in Auckland’s Mt Roskill suburb, says Biosecurity New Zealand Commissioner North Mike Inglis.
Arable growers worried that some weeds in their crops may have developed herbicide resistance can now get the suspected plants tested for free.
Fruit growers and exporters are worried following the discovery of a male Queensland fruit fly in Auckland this week.
Dairy prices have jumped in the overnight Global Dairy Trade (GDT) auction, breaking a five-month negative streak.
Alliance Group chief executive Willie Wiese is leaving the company after three years in the role.
A booklet produced in 2025 by the Rotoiti 15 trust, Department of Conservation and Scion – now part of the Bioeconomy Science Institute – aims to help people identify insect pests and diseases.

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