Top wool advocate bales out
The conversion of productive farmland into trees has pretty much annihilated the wool industry.
The combined North and South Island auction offering of 24,400 bales saw a 91% clearance and a firm to dearer market across the board, NZ Wool Services International Ltd's general manager, John Dawson reports.
The weighted indicator for the main trading currencies was practically unchanged compared to the last sale on February 28, firming by 0.23%.
Dawson advises the fine crossbred fleece was generally slightly dearer with the shear types firm to 2% stronger.
Coarse crossbred fleece were firm to 6% stronger with the average and better style wools lifting the most. The coarse shears were firm to 3% stronger.
First lambs were also firm to 3% dearer. Oddments were 1.5 to 7% stronger with North Island wools gaining the most.
Limited competition with China dominated, supported by Australasia, Western Europe, India, Middle East and United Kingdom.
The next sale on March 14 comprises about 9,500 bales from the South Island.
Foot and Mouth Disease outbreaks could have a detrimental impact on any country's rural sector, as seen in the United Kingdom's 2000 outbreak that saw the compulsory slaughter of over six million animals.
The Ministry for the Environment is joining as a national award sponsor in the Ballance Farm Environment Awards (BFEA from next year).
Kiwis are wasting less of their food than they were two years ago, and this has been enough to push New Zealand’s total household food waste bill lower, the 2025 Rabobank KiwiHarvest Food Waste survey has found.
OPINION: Sir Lockwood Smith has clearly and succinctly defined what academic freedom is all about, the boundaries around it and the responsibility that goes with this privilege.
DairyNZ says its plantain programme continues to deliver promising results, with new data confirming that modest levels of plantain in pastures reduce nitrogen leaching, offering farmers a practical, science-backed tool to meet environmental goals.
'Common sense' cuts to government red tape will make it easier for New Zealand to deliver safe food to more markets.
OPINION: For years, the ironically named Dr Mike Joy has used his position at Victoria University to wage an activist-style…
OPINION: A mate of yours truly has had an absolute gutsful of the activist group SAFE.