Farm Environment Plans have historically been referred to as a tick box exercise. When reviewing compliance there are literal ticks next to the practices implemented. FEP’s have evolved - when implementing change, driving progress and educating, a tailored approach that encompasses more than current compliance is required.
Read MoreThe online world hasn’t escaped bull buying. Bull buying has gone digital, with most vendors also offering the bulls on an online platform. Getting along to a bull sale is always a good idea.
Read MoreDrone technology has been used for military or intelligence services for decades. In recent years, corporations have started to discover them as a more economical alternative to fixed-wing and helicopters, as has the agriculture industry. The AgriBusiness Group have recognised the value that drones can add to our line of work within our consultancy and research teams and for our clients.
Read MoreWhat do the top performers from each farm sector do to achieve the highest interest return on total farm capital employed, and what does the rather gloomy sounding ‘misery index’ say about the farm business? Stuart Ford outlines the key points from the recently published Brown Glassford’s Farm Survey.
Read MoreIn New Zealand, there is a focus on freshwater quality due to serious deterioration of waterways. This has led to primary sectors taking significant action to mitigate their impacts as well as government regulation. The AgriBusiness Group has been working closely within the kiwifruit sector for many years on various sustainability projects, including nutrient management. In this article, we look at how New Zealand’s most valuable horticultural sector is responding to the freshwater challenge and what the upcoming proposed government regulations mean for it.
Read MoreThe recently proposed Essential Freshwater Package raised the discussion once more how thousands of farmers across the country can adapt their systems to collaboratively achieve a common goal. Our environmental consultant Dave Lucock believes that a focus on collaboration and a farm-systems approach should be the answer. And sometimes, squeezing unique farm systems into set regulatory requirements can do more harm than good.
Read MoreAnother change on the Canterbury Plains is on the horizon. It is white and or black, with some shades of brown, has four legs, provides us with a white liquid fit for human consumption but it goes baa instead of moo! Sheep milking is starting to make headway with a handful of farmers milking small flocks of sheep to provide consumers with highly nutritional milk products such as cheese, yoghurt, fresh milk and gelato. Sarah O’Connell is taking a closer look at the opportunities and challenges of the sheep milking industry.
Read MoreAll our industries are under pressure to reduce carbon emissions as New Zealand transits into a low emissions economy to combat climate change. The agriculture industry has recently been served up some policy driven reduction targets likely to hit our soils within the next year or so. We’ve developed a carbon farming service that applies strategic solutions to reduce farm level carbon footprints while retaining economic growth and other fundamental business objectives.
Read MoreThe AgriBusiness Group consultants have adapted the knowledge gained from fifteen years of research into developing a sustainability assessment tool that assists producers to demonstrate their system operates sustainably and so meets the provenance requirements of our high-value customers.
Read MoreThe Red Meat Profit Partnership set up action groups to put farmers in control of what they want to improve, how they want to achieve it and who they wish to get help from to learn and implement required changes. The AgriBusiness Group has been involved with the facilitation of these groups for the last 16 months.
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