Meat Industry Association CEO to Step Down
The Meat Industry Association of New Zealand (MIA) today announced that Chief Executive Officer Sirma Karapeeva has resigned from the role.
Former Agriculture Minister and Horowhenua dairy farmer Nathan Guy is standing for election to the Ravensdown board of directors.
"As farmers and growers grapple with environmental and climate change regulations they are crying out for leadership and user-friendly technologies to make adjustments inside the farm gate," he says.
"We have been using Ravensdown technologies like Hawke Eye and N Protect to better manage our whole operation but more needs to be donw in this space."
Since retiring from politics, Guy - the former Minister for Primary Industries for five years - says he's overseen massive on-farm development. This includes building a new twin rotary farm dairy, as well as a new effluent and water system.
He adds that he's also become active in governance, transferring the "critical thinking, connections and experiences gained from 15 years in Parliament and around the Cabinet table to the board room".
Guy currently serves on the boards of Barenbrug (formerly Agriseeds) and the Horowhenua Kapiti Rugby Football Union.
New Zealand's diverse cheesemaking talent shone brightly last night as the New Zealand Specialist Cheesemakers Association (NZSCA) crowned the champions of the 2026 New Zealand Cheese Awards.
Tracing has indicated that the source of the first velvetleaf find of the 2025-26 crop season, in Auckland, was likely maize purchased in the Waikato region.
Fish & Game New Zealand has announced its election priorities in its Manifesto 2026.
With the forage maize harvest started in Northland and the Waikato, the Foundation for Arable Research (FAR) is telling growers of later crops, or those further south, to start checking their maize crop maturity about three weeks prior to when they think they will start silage harvesting.
Irrigation NZ is warning that the government's Resource Management Act (RMA) reform risks falling short of its objectives unless water use for food production and water storage infrastructure are clearly recognised in the goals at the top of the new system.
More than five million trays, or 18,000 tonnes, of Zespri’s RubyRed Kiwifruit will soon be available for consumers across 16 markets this season.

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