MIL-OSI: Data > Intelligence > News
Source: Radio New Zealand RNZ / Sharon Lundy A new study has found higher concentrations of nectar from native New Zealand plant species in the drier eastern parts of the motu. Flowers produced high-sugar nectar which fed birds and insects, and was also collected and processed to make honey. Over two years, researchers measured nectar … Read more
Source: Radio New Zealand The Three Roads kiwifruit orchard in Edgecumbe near Whakatāne. SUPPLIED/Craigmore Sustainables The investment arm of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints has purchased a new kiwifruit orchard in Bay of Plenty. The investment was set to fund the work of its owner, the United States-based church known commonly as … Read more
Source: Radio New Zealand Steve Evans is a man who just loves old wood and just can’t bear the thought of seeing it end up in landfill or being chucked on a fire. Much of the stock he sells at Ironbark Re-engineered in North Canterbury came from the Lyttelton wharves which were removed after being … Read more
Source: Radio New Zealand The view back to the factory from the ponds. Cosmo Kentish-Barnes Iconic South Canterbury fruit company Barker Fruit Processors’ $60 million factory expansion will come to fruition later this year, in efforts to “future-proof” the growing business. The company owned by the Andros Group in France was expanding its Pleasant Valley … Read more
Source: Radio New Zealand Fancy a drop of “kiwi-friendly” wine or a bite of a “kiwi-friendly” kiwifruit? Branding fruit as “kiwi-friendly” could be a future marketing tool for producers after a study showed the North Island brown kiwi foraging for bugs in Northland vineyards and orchards, scientists say. Follow Country Life on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, … Read more
Source: Radio New Zealand Brett Coubrough and his daughter Linda checking on their cows. Gianina Schwanecke / Country Life The Coubroughs know their decisions today will determine the years to come. Brett, whose grandparents originally bought the 76-hectare dairy farm near Tirau in 1907, runs the property with his two children Tim and Linda. Succession … Read more
Source: Radio New Zealand Alliance Group meatworks in Southland. RNZ / Nathan McKinnon The overseas investment offer to rescue red meat processor Alliance Group has gotten even sweeter. Irish company Dawn Meats has increased its proposed investment from $250 million to $270m, following stronger-than-expected year-end results from Alliance. Dawn Meats’ proposed 65 percent stake in … Read more
Source: Radio New Zealand Wattie’s New Zealand is cutting down on local produced crops, including tomatoes, corn and beetroot. pixabay Wattie’s New Zealand is further reducing fruit and vegetable crops it sources from its home of Hawke’s Bay, citing an ongoing struggle against cheaper imports. Growers of key crops beetroot, corn and tomatoes will be … Read more
Source: Radio New Zealand The first calves of a new crossbred dairy-beef offering are now on the ground at a Pāmu, formerly Landcorp, farm near Taupō. Supplied On a state-owned farm near Taupō, the first creamy-coloured calves of a new dairy-beef crossbreed are frolicking. Called the Synergizer, the calves are the result of combining genetics … Read more
Source: Radio New Zealand Federated Farmers president Wayne Langford said the new targets were backed by science and had landed in a “solid” place. AgResearch Farmers have welcomed the government’s new “science-based” biogenic methane targets for 2050. It’s dropped the reduction target for biogenic methane from 24 to 47 percent below 2017 levels by 2050, … Read more
Source: Radio New Zealand ANZ used economic hedges to manage interest rate and foreign exchange risks. RNZ / Marika Khabazi The country’s biggest bank has reported a record full-year profit largely driven by gains from economic hedges, while lending and margins also increased. Key numbers for the 12 months ended September compared with a year … Read more
Source: Radio New Zealand Fallen trees at the side of the road in Riversdale in Wairarapa on Thursday. RNZ / Mark Papalii Many rural communities are clearing away fallen trees, debris and repairing fences in wind battered regions, following yesterday’s storm. Katie Wyeth, a Federated Farmers spokesperson for Wairarapa, said many farmers hadn’t even had … Read more
Source: Radio New Zealand Ingka Investments the parent company of furniture giant Ikea has bought 10,000 hectares of production forestry in Northland. Supplied Ingka Investments, the parent company of furniture giant Ikea, has bought 10,000 hectares of production forestry in Northland from Greenheart Group. It takes the company’s investment in the country’s forestland to nearly … Read more
Source: Radio New Zealand Alliance Group meatworks in Southland. RNZ / Nathan McKinnon Alliance Group farmer-shareholders have voted in favour of a proposed $270 million investment from Irish meat processor Dawn Meats. Under the agreement, Dawn Meats will acquire a 65 percent stake in Alliance Group, with farmer-shareholders retaining 35 percent ownership. More than 2600 … Read more
Source: Radio New Zealand Flooding on Pāmu Farms’ West Coast dairy farms. SUPPLIED/PĀMU FARMS OF NZ South Island farmers are working to keep farms running amid power outages, road closures and damaging winds – with all eyes on rising rivers. Follow updates on RNZ’s blog Severe gale northwesterlies are lashing parts of the east coast … Read more
Source: Radio New Zealand 123RF Environmental lawyers say they remain concerned about the risks posed by glyphosate-based products, the most commonly used herbicide in Aotearoa, despite a rejection in the High Court. Last week, the High Court dismissed the Environmental Law Initiative’s (ELI) challenge of the Environmental Protection Authority’s (EPA) decision not to reassess glyphosate, … Read more
Source: Radio New Zealand A sow in a farrowing crate. (File photo) Claudius Thiriet / Biosphoto via AFP MPs deliberating controversial changes to pig welfare rules will have less time to scrutinise new rules. The Animal Welfare Amendment (Regulations of Management of Pigs) Bill proposed to keep farrow crates, but gave pig farmers 10 years … Read more
Source: Radio New Zealand Pastoral farming remains a key sector in the Hawke’s Bay economy. A rural land agent has allayed fears a significant Hawke’s Bay farm will be planted in pine trees. The Riverbank Station owned by former All Blacks captain Sam Whitelock and his wife Hannah is on the market. The flat, rolling … Read more
Source: Radio New Zealand Sheep and beef farmer Chris Lovell says floodwaters were so high he was afraid to leave his home to check on stock. RNZ / Robin Martin There have been calls for a review of the warnings issued ahead of last week’s weather event which brought down hundreds of slips, closed dozens … Read more
Source: Radio New Zealand The Eterna is the world’s largest variety of blueberry. Supplied / The Fresh Berry Company This story has been updated to clarify the blueberries will not be genetically modified The world’s largest variety of blueberry will soon be grown and sold in New Zealand. Described as “up to the size of … Read more
Source: Radio New Zealand Wind-damaged pivot irrigators in North Canterbury. Supplied Tens of millions of dollars worth of irrigation equipment is thought to have been damaged by strong winds in North Canterbury. Thursday’s gales tossed and twisted hundreds of massive pivot irrigators, leaving Amuri Basin farmers with weeks or months-long waits for replacement parts from … Read more
Source: Radio New Zealand A first responder and local farmer believes it’s a miracle no one was hurt in the devastating storm that hit Clutha, but he’s warning there will be injuries in the clean up. At its peak, communications, power and water were off across Southland and Clutha creating a nightmare situation for farmers. … Read more
Source: Radio New Zealand Only 72 percent of Māori children under five years old are vaccinated. 123rf Rural nurses are on a mission to try and lift measle vaccination rates in hard to reach areas, as health experts expect the outbreak to grow. There are currently 11 known measles cases throughout the country, and the … Read more
Source: Radio New Zealand They used to be a regular sight on New Zealand’s roads and paddocks – the plodding, but magnificent Clydesdales. The horses with the hobbit hooves helped tame the land in earlier times, ploughing wheatfields, carting lumber and carving out New Zealand’s infrastructure, but these dignified animals are now becoming a rare … Read more
Source: Radio New Zealand RNZ / Andrew Johnstone Storm-hit farmers are tired, cold and cut off from communications More support hubs are being set up Rural Support Trust says focus is moving to human welfare More than 200 dairy farms across Southland are still relying on generators to keep their cows milked, sometimes borrowing them … Read more
Source: Radio New Zealand The sale of Fonterra’s consumer businesses could have a flow-on effect for the economy. 123rf / Supplied images The New Zealand economy is set to benefit from an estimated $4.5 billion increase in spending, should the sale of Fonterra’s consumer businesses go ahead. ASB economists said the proposed sale of Fonterra’s … Read more
Source: Radio New Zealand Ben Banks stands on the tracks among the dunes at the side of Thornton Lagoon RNZ/Sally Round Conservationist Ben Banks spends a lot of his spare time trying to protect the Okorero -Thornton Lagoon wildlife reserve but it seems joyriders are just as much of a threat as the pests he’s … Read more