Field Notes Issue 653

In Aotearoa, it was a big week for dairy news. Open Country Dairy (OCD) has reduced their milk forecast range by 50 cents from between $8 to $8.30/kgMS to $7.50 to $7.80/kgMS. Despite the Global Dairy Trade (GDT) auction last week experiencing the first rise in five auctions, GDT prices are still 6.1% down since the start of the year. Westland Milk Products will invest $70 million to expand their Hokitika factory, which will allow them to treble their production of the dairy protein lactoferrin, making them one of the top producers in the world. The expansion aligns with their plan to focus on high-value consumer goods and specialised ingredients from their milk supply. Fonterra Co-operative Group have received up to $2.5 million from the Government Investment in Decarbonising Industry (GIDI) Process Heath Contestable Fund at their Hautapu site to convert two coal boilers to wood pellets, a change that will reduce carbon emissions by 15,785 tonnes annually. Westpac economist, Nathan Penny stated rural inflation is expected to fall to 4% by December 2023, down from 15.3% in December 2022. Farm and orchard margins are expected to widen again, as the lower cost inflation will occur alongside higher farm gate returns. In the Hawkes Bay, the local council has recognised ‘Alligator weed’ at Lake Whatumā as a severe threat to agriculture and biodiversity. The extend of the outbreak is still being examined, once known, the council will confirm a plan with the aim of eradication.

In international news, the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP) opens opportunities for New Zealand meat producers selling meat into Japan. Japan is the world’s third largest meat market, estimated to be worth $88 billion this year, a 3.5% increase on last year. Half of Japan’s grain fed beef imports have previously come from Australia, where drought in recent years has caused volumes to fall allowing New Zealand exports to grow, up 29% to $349 million in 2022 on 2021 exports. In the United Kingdom, the Government, has released its draft Border Target Operating Model which aims to introduce sanitary, phytosanitary and security controls. Salmonella outbreaks in 2020 and 2021 from Polish breaded chicken products is estimated to have affected 5,000 people in the UK, and cost the country $15.7 million. The Border Target Operating Model will be a more targeted, risk-based system and will see the introduction of health certification checks on EU imports from October 2023. Frequency of control will be based on the risk of the product and country of origin.

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In tough times like these, farmers, growers, fishers and rural people check-in on each other.

This online evening is all about reconnecting with our rural whānau and mates, sharing a few stories and preparing for the road ahead.

Joining host Te Radar will be Steve Kearney (NZ Defence Force) and Dr Lucy Hone, covering off practical tools and tips for staying on track and lessons about personal resilience after the Christchurch earthquakes. Also joining The Big Check-in will be community leaders Sandra Matthews (Tairāwhiti) and Michelle Ruddell (Tai Tokerau) to share inspiring stories from their regions.

Register for this free, 90-minute online event (May 4, 7pm-8:30pm) at https://bit.ly/TheBigCheck-in

Food inflation beginning to ease in Europe [21 April, Farmers Weekly]

According to a new report by McKinsey, food inflation in Europe has peaked, and inflationary pressures are expected to ease in 2023. Inflation in the European Union increased from 2.9% to 9.2% in 2022, peaking at 11.5% in October. However, Food inflation in some countries was twice as high, causing many consumers to compromise on the quality of products bought. While consumer confidence is starting to return, it remains below pre-pandemic levels. The report highlights that saving money on food remains a top priority for both high and low-income consumers in 2023, with 53% of respondents saying they want to save more money on food. Consumers are planning to spend less on premium, healthy, and sustainable products this year.  

Tags: International

Toray and Mitsui unlock potential of cellulosic sugars to fuel biomanufacturing revolution with upcycled feedstocks [25 April, AgFunder Network]

Japanese chemical company, Toray, has developed a cost-effective technology to produce cellulosic sugars using upcycled feedstocks. Working with sugar producer, Mitsio DM Sugar Co in Thailand, Toray has been trialling technology to extract cellulosic sugars from cassava waste and sugarcane bagasse (a fibrous by-product from the crushing processing). The technology involves recovering and reusing 50% of the enzymes used to break down cellulose sugar in the waste products significantly reducing costs. Additionally, their process uses water treatment membrane technology to filter out target sugars from sugary liquid, producing high-quality cellulosic sugar while conserving energy. Toray plans to commercialise the technology by 2030. 

Tags: Research & Development, Agri-technology

Trial vineyard has 4000 plants grown in lab [22 April, RNZ]

Plant and Food Research scientists, Dr Ross Bicknell and Dr Philippa Barrell, are leading a project using "jumping genes" (a small sequence of DNA known as transposons) to develop new genetic variants of pinot noir grapes from a single cell. The purpose is to create more robust plants that can withstand high temperatures and pressure from pests and diseases arising from climate change, while still retaining the iconic New Zealand flavour. Following successful development under laboratory conditions, the team planted thousands of unique grapevines in 2015. This year grapes from selected plants are being made into small batches of wine for testing and will be analysed to see how they differ from standard pinot noir. 

Tags: Research & Development, Horticulture

Smaller than usual RubyRed kiwifruit means less available for export [20 April, Stuff]

New Zealand kiwifruit growers of the new RubyRed variety may face financial losses due to the unusual wet weather conditions this season, which has resulted in smaller fruit that is unsuitable for export. Introduced in 2019, this is the variety’s second season of commercial production. Projected returns this season are $18 per tray at orchard gate, a drop from last season’s $21.99 per tray of export quality fruit. Approximately 780 hectares of RubyRed has been licensed, with another 150 hectares to be released later this year. Fruit not up to export quality will be sold in the domestic market, which could lead to an oversupply and uneconomic prices in the future according to Seeka chief executive, Michael Franks.

Tags: Horticulture

Cream tea in the mix as Fonterra eyes China beverage market [25 April, RNZ]

Fonterra Co-operative Group have opened a new application centre in the southern Chinese city of Shenzhen focusing on adding dairy products such as milk, cream, butter, and even cream cheese into beverages. Fonterra has four other centres in China, but this new application centre will focus on drinks; developing more innovative products like tea macchiato (tea with a cream topping) and other combinations for the Chinese market. The CEO of Fonterra Greater China, Teh-han Chow, highlighted that beverages are a developing market in China, where dairy consumption has traditionally been drinking a glass of milk. Adding dairy products into drinks like tea (a traditional Chinese product) and coffee is relatively new, which creates opportunities to increase demand for New Zealand dairy products. 

Tags: Dairy, Research & Development