Alliance commissions major heat pump system at Mataura, cutting coal use and emissions
Alliance Group has commissioned a new heat pump system at its Mataura processing plant in Southland.
OPINION: A mate of yours truly wonders if the rush by some to implement taxes on agricultural emissions might just leave the country’s farmers in the proverbial.
“Has anyone considered that if a bull harvests say 10 kilograms of DM a day and puts out less methane while digesting it – ( i.e. it farts and belches a little less than the bull next door),” he asks.
“What happens when he excretes? Does his sh*t emit more methane on the ground than the next door’s bull does?”
Old mate suggests the industry need to ‘get to the bottom of this crap’ and analyse the whole process.
If we don’t, he suggests farming in NZ will become “unprofitable, un-bankable and unsustainable”.
He wonders if we are being fed with a whole lot of “bulls*t” and will find ourselves “soundly in the crap”.
Waikato dairy farmer Neil Bateup, made a companion of the New Zealand Order of Merit (CNZM) in the New Year 2026 Honours list, says he’s grateful for the award.
Another Australian state has given the green light to virtual fencing, opening another market for Kiwi company Halter.
Farmer interest continues to grow as a Massey University research project to determine the benefits or otherwise of the self-shedding Wiltshire sheep is underway. The project is five years in and has two more years to go. It was done mainly in the light of low wool prices and the cost of shearing. Peter Burke recently went along to the annual field day held Massey's Riverside farm in the Wairarapa.
Applications are now open for the 2026 NZI Rural Women Business Awards, set to be held at Parliament on 23 July.
Ravensdown has announced a collaboration with Kiwi icon, Footrot Flats in an effort to bring humour, heart, and connection to the forefront of the farming sector.
Forest & Bird's Kiwi Conservation Club is inviting New Zealanders of all ages to embrace the outdoors with its Summer Adventure Challenges.

OPINION: The release of the Natural Environment Bill and Planning Bill to replace the Resource Management Act is a red-letter day…
OPINION: Federated Farmers has launched a new campaign, swapping ‘The Twelve Days of Christmas’ for ‘The Twelve Pests of Christmas’ to…