Field Notes - issue 566

[15 July 2021]

This week trade and export stories dominate New Zealand, as we hear the rise of export prices for deer pizzles and environmentally certified meat, but further easing of commodity dairy and non-manuka honey prices.

Internationally, world hunger is the topic of the week with the release of reports by both the United Nations and Oxfam highlighting our growing rate of global undernourishment, which has reached its highest rate in over 15 years.

This week Ian Proudfoot digs into the detail of the Agribusiness Agenda 2021 in a 12 minute video which touches on multiple topics including biosecurity, the impact of Covid-19, decarbonisation, genetic engineering, food security and leadership. 

To read previous editions of Field Notes please click here.

NZ hort value tops $6.7bn in “most bizarre” year – HortNZ [20 July, Food Ticker]

According to Horticulture New Zealand, the value of the sector grew to NZ$6.73 billion in March 2021, an increase of 5.3% from the previous year, despite the challenges caused by the global pandemic, extreme weather, and shipping congestion. The total value of exports reached NZ$4.55bn, up 8.3% from 2020. Kiwifruit accounted for more than half the value of exports over the period at NZ$2.53bn, followed by apples at NZ$876 million and onions at NZ$147m. HortNZ said its top priority was to build relationships with industry stakeholders, as well as with product groups and district associations.

Tag: Horticulture, Trade & Exports, Covid-19

From taxing salt and sugar to reducing animal proteins: The controversial proposals in the UK’s National Food Strategy paper [15 July, Food Navigator]

An independent review led by businessman Henry Dimbleby about UK’s food system describes ‘how the food system actually works’, ‘the damage it is doing to our bodies and ecosystem’ and ‘the interventions we could make to prevent these harms’. He claims a tax on sugar and salt would “create an incentive for manufacturers to reduce the levels of sugar and salt in their products by reformulating their recipes or reducing their portion sizes. Additionally, the report calls for a 30% reduction in meat consumption between 2019-2032 to meet ‘health, climate and nature commitments’.

Tag: International, Policy and Regulation

Farmers bring cities and towns to a standstill with mass protest over Government regulations [16 July, Stuff]

Thousands of farmers drove their tractors and utes into towns and cities nationwide to protest over Government regulations concerning unworkable environmental policies for freshwater, significant natural areas, and climate change. Groundswell NZ said protestors were feeling overwhelmed by the avalanche of “poorly designed policies” and the “we know best, one-size-fits-all mindset” of the current Government. Contrary to the strong support, retired Dr Linton Winder said Groundswell NZ’s proposals essentially ask for most of the new regulations to be scrapped, however this would just delay effective action for at least another decade.

Tag: Farmers & Producers, Policy and Regulation

Favourable prices everywhere [16 July, Farmers Weekly]

According to ASB economist Nat Keall, the current rural commodity prices are excellent and should persist due to the potent combination of supply being constrained and global economy reopening, consumption lifting and growth forecasts strengthening. ASB’s forecasts show a NZ$7.60/kg milksolids final payout for 2021 and a ‘very bold’ NZ$8.20 for the new season. The lamb price index has increased nearly 30% over the last quarter and beef prices increased 20% over the past three months. On the contrary, the challenges of labour shortages and rising animal feed costs remain.

Tag: Farmers & Producers, Trade & Exports

Callaghan Innovation leads Government alliance to improve NZ's CleanTech ecosystem [21 July, NZ Herald]

A newly formed cross-government partnership led by Callaghan Innovation aims to improve New Zealand's CleanTech sector and help transform local businesses to become thriving and profitable. Callaghan Innovation CleanTech lead James Muir said "we need to support climate innovation as a step towards achieving the national and global carbon targets set by the Climate Commission." Key actions include developing a five-year roadmap, strenghtening local and international connections, driving initiatives to improve commercialisation, and a more focused approach on selected CleanTech clusters.

Tag: Research & Development, Food Innovation, Policy and regulation

The 'cut-throat' industry of New Zealand beekeeping [11 July, Stuff]

It has been reported that many beekeepers are struggling to make a profit as prices of New Zealand honey continue to drop due to fierce competition as well as varroa and wasp invasions. Beekeeper Jane Lormier states she has seen a drop in Clover honey from NZ$15 to NZ$4. Additionally, third generation Hawke’s Bays apiarist John Berry says, there are no rules or regulations in relation to beehive location and people in urban areas are buying hives in hopes of sustaining the bee population, however the urban locations can cause struggle for the bees to find food.

Tag: Apiculture, Rural Communities

Kiwifruit grower Seeka invests in agritech business Fruitometry [09 July, Stuff]

New Zealand’s largest kiwifruit grower Seeka has announced a NZ$2.6 million investment in agritech business Fruitometry. Seeka chief executive Michael Franks said the start-up would enable them to better manage their orchards by provimding accurate pre-harvest fruit volume estimations as Fruitometry utilises advances in telemetry, imaging, and artificial intelligence. Fruitometry chief technology officer Christopher Miller said the investment would be used to rapidly scale the Katikati-based business, broaden its product line and expand internationally.

Tag: Horticulture, Agritech

GDT prices ease across the board [09 July, 2021]

Global Dairy Trade (GDT) prices dropped 3.6% in aggregate in the latest auction, making this the biggest fall since mid-March 2021. Analysts say the market reacted to news of New Zealand’s strong end to the milk production season and hesitancy from buyers to pay the recent premium commodity prices. Whole milk powder prices, skim milk powder, cheddar, butter and anhydrous all dropped by 3%, 7%, 9%, 3.2% and 0.9% respectively.

Tag: Dairy, Trade & Exports

SFF launches zero carbon Angus beef [08 July, Farmers Weekly]

Silver Fern Farms (SFF) will launch Toitū Net Carbon Zero Certified Beef into the US market this year. According to chief executive Simon Limmer, this follows the company’s work with AgResearch and Toitū Envirocare to complete a lifecycle assessment of its 100% Angus beef. Limmer says emissions from the beef will be accounted for by carbon removals by vegetation on the supplier farms. Co-chair Rob Hewett says the initiatives will stretch the company but are part of its vision to be “the world’s most successful and sustainable grass-fed red meat company”.

Tag: Red meat, Environment & Emissions, Food Marketing

Zespri mulls post-China vote options [07 July, Farmers Weekly]

Zespri intends to scale back its ambitions to run commercial trials with Chinese growers after reaching a 70.5% vote, failing to gain the 75% New Zealand grower support needed to push ahead with the programme. The programme aimed at working with Chinese growers who have planted unauthorised SunGold kiwifruit, originally sourced illegally from plants supplied out of NZ. “The problem is not going away and is only likely to increase. We are concerned about the impact of the volume of this G3 fruit on our retail space,” chief grower, industry and sustainability officer Carol Ward said.

Tag: Horticulture, Farmers & Producers

Achievements recognised at 2021 Primary Industries New Zealand Awards [07 July, NZ Herald]

The 2021 Primary Industries New Zealand Awards dinner has recognised several initiatives including a collaboration to reduce emissions and accelerate green hydrogen infrastructure, a company taking Kiwi honey to the world, as well as an initiative to boost farmer mental wellbeing through surfing. Stephen Thompson from Bayley's Rural Real Estate took out the Team Award for Surfing for Farmers. The Innovation and Collaboration award went to Ballance Agri Nutrients and Hiringa Energy, and the Primary Industries Producer Award went to the True Honey Company. Additionally, many individuals were recognised for their leadership in the primary industry.

Tag: Honours & Awards

Hold the meat: Plant-based cookbooks from Chelsea Winter and Nadia Lim lead the pack [11 July, Stuff]

Across all book sales in all categories, ‘Chelsea Winter’s Supergood’ was the top-selling title in New Zealand in 2020. Over 30,400 copies of the vegan cookbook were sold in 2020, according Nielsen’s BookScan, which monitors sales of over 350 New Zealand retailers, for a total sales value of over NZ$1.2 million. Additionally, a second plant-based cookbook appeared on the top-selling list: Vegful, the vegetarian cookbook from another MasterChef NZ winner, Nadia Lim.

Tag: Food Marketing

Fonterra says global dairy prices are pushing up cost of cheese [04 July, TVNZ]

According to Fonterra Co-operative Group, continued increases in global dairy prices are behind the higher cost of cheese – an increase of 15% over the last year. Fonterra Co-operative Group said since the pandemic, there has been a significant increase in demand for cheese in New Zealand and globally. It is reported that the increase in price of dairy products means some foodbanks are no longer receiving regular donations of milk and cheese to give to those most in need.

Tag: Dairy, Trade & Exports

Peak dairy processing? [13 July, Rural News Group]

Global food company Olam International is setting up a milk processing plant in South Waikato, however, there are some questioning whether New Zealand dairy needs more ‘stainless steel’. Former Fonterra Co-operative Council chairman Duncan Coull warns that overcapacity will lead to inefficiency at the processor level and ultimately affect farmers negatively as processors try and deal with a lower return on their own capital. He adds, "rationalisation will have to occur at some point to deal with this. The effect on rural communities at this point can be devastating."

Tag: Dairy, Rural Communities

Central Otago cherry orchard preparing for 'electric future' [13 July, NZ Herald]

A New Zealand couple based in Central Otago have bought an electric tractor for their cherry orchard and are ‘electrifying everything’. Owner Mike Casey said the ‘electric future’ was coming and business owners should be excited about the efficiencies and cost-effectiveness of that. He hopes consumers will be prepared to pay higher prices for food that did not use fossil fuels, as their long-term vision is to develop a renewable consumer brand that growers could use to gain a premium price on their products.

Tag: Horticulture, Environment & Emissions, Farmers & Producers

Farmers vote yes on sheepmeat and beef levies [13 July, Farmers Weekly]

Almost 90% of farmers voted in favour of the sheepmeat levy on a one farmer, one vote basis, with support of 92% on a weighted stock unit basis. Additionally, 88.1% of farmers voted in support of the beef levy with support of 89.4% on a weighted stock unit basis. Beef + Lamb New Zealand chairman Andrew Morrison said, “we’re very pleased with the result particularly given the amount of farmer concern out there about the wave of regulation coming at them.”

Tag: Red Meat, Farmers & Producers

Returns Gone Sour: The impact of carbon pricing on the dairy sector [8 July, Food Navigator]

In a recent report, the FAIRR initiative explores what a carbon tax could mean for the future of dairy and its stakeholders. It is reported that New Zealand’s income carbon price brings a number of challenges for dairy producers as analysis finds that by 2050, carbon costs for New Zealand’s dairy sector could be equivalent to 26% of the current average operating profit of owner-operator dairy farms and 74% for sharemilking farms. Additionally, the increase in demand for plant-based alternatives will compound the regulatory risk associated with the carbon price.

Tag: Dairy, International, Trade & Exports, Environment & Emissions

‘We are excited to understand its potential’: Nestlé confirms move to explore cultured meat sector [13 July, Food Navigator]

The world’s largest food company, Nestlé, has confirmed it is eyeing the cultured meat sector after a leaked report revealed a tie-up with Israeli cell-based start-up Future Meat Technologies. Nestlé said it is looking to “understand the potential of future meat alternatives” and is “closely monitoring scientific trends and exploring emerging technologies”. The company’s initial plan is to create a blend of cultured animal fat combined with plant-based protein to sell to food manufacturers globally. They will then sell the equipment, technology and ingredients to larger food companies and farmers.

Tag: International, Alternative Proteins

Every minute, 11 people die of hunger: Oxfam [09 July, Aljazeera]

According to a report by Oxfam, about 155 million people around the world live at crisis level of food security which is 20 million more than last year. They identified countries including Yemen, Afghanistan and Venezuela as places where existing food crises were worsened by the pandemic and its economic consequences. Additionally, Abby Maxman Oxfam America’s president and chief executive officer said, “instead of battling the pandemic, warring parties fought each other, too often landing the last blow to millions already battered by weather disasters and economic shocks.”

Tag: International, Food Security

Agritech industry grew over 2020, report shows [13 July, RNZ]

According to The Technology Investment Network (TIN) report for 2020, the agritech industry is steadily growing despite challenges posed by the pandemic. Venture capital investment rose 13% to NZ$127 million, while angel investment rose 48% to NZ$160m. Additionally, the total value of exports rose 7.5% to $790.4m. TIN managing director Greg Shanahan said the sector was attracting strong investment but still needed improved access to government supply contracts, as well as initiatives to develop homegrown talent.

Tag: Agritech

Happy Cow launches capital raise, Hunt and Gather secures funds [13 July, Food Ticker]

Happy Cow Milk Company has launched its second capital raise as it looks to scale up its prototype into paddocks and retailers around the country. Its Founder Glen Herud is looking for a minimum of NZ$500,000 with a maximum target set at NZ$2 million via PledgeMe. On the other hand, Hunt and Gather Bee Company has taken in £350,000 as it is reported to deepen its reach into the domestic market and prepare itself for a strategic launch into international markets.

Tag: Dairy, Agribusiness