Organic dairy co-op files for liquidation
A co-operative touted as New Zealand's only 100% farmer-owned organic milk producer has gone bust.
Origen Green, a marketing brand created by Ireland, is something New Zealand needs to copy and do better and faster.
That's the message from KPMG global head of agribusiness Ian Proudfoot, just home from a visit to Ireland.
Origen Green is described as a 'verifiable commitment to sustainability all along the supply chain' and is run by Bord Bia – the Irish Food board.
Origen Green involves farmers, processors and suppliers and is aimed at reducing the environmental footprint of agriculture and protecting natural resources. It is also independently verified.
"Origen Green is brilliant in concept and the way they are doing it," Proudfoot told Rural News. "They've been building it in a systematic way for 10 years and they are in front of everyone else in the world.
"It's not just about the environment, although that is an important part of it. It's also doing the right thing in... employment practices and animal welfare, and anything where the customer could challenge the efficacy of a product. It's highly connected to consumers and everything they do is driven by the needs of consumers."
Proudfoot says farms are audited and they get practical feedback on how they can improve. Farmers must also produce a five year plan including specific milestones.
"It's to lift the whole game and do the right thing," he explains. "We in NZ have to learn quickly about what the Irish are doing, because they are a competitor of ours and they've got something we have nothing close to.
"We don't articulate where we want our industry to go in such clear terms as the Irish have done through Origen Green."
Proudfoot concedes that while Ireland is ahead of NZ on this front, we should try to learn from what they have done and do it faster and better. He believes a lack of overall leadership in the primary sector is a problem for NZ.
New data released by LIC and DairyNZ shows New Zealand dairy farmers have achieved the highest six week in-calf rate and lowest notin- calf rate on record.
Christchurch City Council and the Canterbury Agricultural and Pastoral Association (CAPA) have signed an agreement which will open more of Canterbury Agricultural Park for public use while helping to provide long-term certainty for the A&P Show.
This year’s Fieldays will feature a Rural Advocacy Hub - bringing together various rural organisations who are advocating for farmers and championing their interests as one team, under one roof, for the first time.
ASB head of rural banking Aidan Gent is encouraging farmers to speak to their banks when they are struggling.
Hunters around the country are hoping for some foul weather this weekend with the game bird season getting underway.
Farmers have been airing their concerns to the Government over changes to the Accredited Employer Work Visa scheme.
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