Agribusiness leader and Canterbury farmer Andy Macfarlane has been appointed to the board of AgriZeroNZ, the public-private partnership accelerating the development and deployment of emissions reduction tools for New Zealand farmers.

"The only difference was the accents."

A new team focused on assessing novel animal and plant health products will be established by year’s end, marking what one senior regulator says is a milestone in speeding up the flow of innovation into the primary sector.

Asset manager Real Asset Management (RAM) has partnered with specialist local lender Oxbury Agricultural Finance to provide up to $200 million in funding for its livestock finance portfolio.

Meat processors ANZCO Foods and Greenlea Group have agreed for the former to acquire the latter, pending Commerce Commission and Overseas Investment Office approval.

Rob Clayton says practical, farmer led innovation is what drew him to Gallagher and will shape how he leads its global Animal Management business.

Richard Kells is the only remaining wool broker selling by auction in Napier.

Investing more than $100 million in new facilities at Finegand will deliver material operating savings and a more resilient earnings base with strong long-term returns at both site and network level, Silver Fern Farms says.

Dunedin-based Scott Technology has secured over NZ$12 million of materials handling and logistics contracts across Europe and North America, supporting continued growth with key customers and expansion into adjacent food processing sectors.

Corson Grain says the rebuild of its Awapuni site is entering its next phase as the company works to restore and modernise maize processing capacity lost when a fire destroyed its maize gritting mill in March 2023.

Building a profitable farming business has never been simple.

Ruralco CEO Tony Aitken has been awarded excellence in business leadership at the recent ANZ Business of the Year Awards in Ashburton.

The vegetable industry is reshaping how it represents itself, with a new structure designed to bring growers together under one banner while keeping existing product groups intact.

Harraways is backing the future of oat processing in the lower South Island with a major, multi-year investment programme to lift capacity, improve efficiency and keep its Dunedin mill competitive for decades to come.

Good news for lower South Island dairy producers. Port Otago has announced a significant 35 year lease agreement with Fonterra for its dairy export warehouse in Port Chalmers.

Three new grower directors have been appointed to the Foundation for Arable Research board. They are Edward White of central Hawkes Bay, Michael Tayler of South Canterbury and Hamish Irwin of Mid Canterbury.

New research funded by the Agricultural Emissions Centre shows reducing emissions from pastoral farming is possible but will require on-farm innovation and strong support to remain economically viable.

Lower South Island exporters and importers have a new weekly shipping option to and from Australia, Asia, the Middle East and Africa.

Safer Farms chair Lindy Nelson says too many farmers and their families are still being hurt or killed while producing food and fibre, and she believes the sector must stop accepting preventable harm as a normal part of work.

Eastland Port in Gisborne is first in line for extra Government funding to bolster New Zealand’s coastal shipping network.