Meat processor Silver Fern Farms is working on replacement funding for an existing $75 million of bonds reports Business Day. The $75m tranche is due to mature in December and the meat processing co-operative is mulling options including a further bond issue or alternative funding from banks.

SFF had about $184.5m of debt at August 31. It needs capital or further facilities to help pay debt that is rolling over and to continue its farm-pasture-to-customer-plate marketing strategy. SFF’s previous capital-raising plan ended with a splutter rather than a surge with farmer suppliers only ploughing in about $22m of new equity, much less than originally envisaged.

(more…)

Commentators are continuing to express confidence in the future of the meat industry, more so than farmers. Rabobank’s Australian-based animal protein senior analyst, Wendy Voss, told farmers in Central Otago last week that demand for all meat was expected to grow 20% in the next decade, at a time supplies were forecast to continue falling reports The ODT.

That extra demand would come from developing nations and would outstrip supply, Ms Voss said. “The outlook for Australia and NZ sheep meat and beef is very positive,” she told 300 farmers at the SI High Country committee’s biennial field day in the Nevis Valley. Ms Voss said fluctuating prices had caused a global decline in the supply of sheep meat and beef.

(more…)

The benefits of a good winter feeding schedule that leads to ewes having better body conditions scores (BCS) at the start of lambing was highlighted at a field day last week reports The Southland Times. More than 200 farmers attended the Meat & Wool New Zealand Southern South Island sheep and beef council field day at the Woodlands research farm on Wednesday.

Dr David Stevens, of AgResearch, said it was clear poor winter feeding affected several aspects of production before, during and after lambing, and it was essential for good lamb growth, particularly multiples, to have ewes in good condition. “You’re no longer expecting one lamb and 5 kilograms of wool.”

(more…)

Two women directors have been elected to the Meat and Wool New Zealand board, displacing men already involved in the industry’s power structures reports Business Day. Kirsten Bryant, of Fordell, has been elected to represent the Western North Island ward and Anne Munro of Fairlie, to represent the Central South Island.

Mrs Bryant was elected with 9620 votes, beating Manawatu farmer Tony Gray (5879) for a seat in which Ron Frew did not seek re-election. The voting return percentage was only 25.25 percent, even though Mr Gray is Federated Farmers’ Manawatu/Rangitikei meat and fibre chairman. During campaigning Mrs Bryant said she was motivated to stand when farmers in her area told Agriculture Minister David Carter that hill country farming was on its last legs.

(more…)

A return to the days of many farms being converted to dairying is not expected, a leading rural financier says in The ODT. Rabobank senior protein analyst Hayley Moynihan said a more conservative approach by farmers, tighter credit and lower farm values would not see a return “to the heady days of new dairy conversions”.

However, milk prices would see most farmers return to cash profitability this year and, if expenditure was controlled, potentialprofits would be comparable to 2007-08, she said. Mrs Moynihan expected milk production to grow 2% this year due to herd expansion, feed supplements and moderate climatic conditions over most of the country.

(more…)

It is technically autumn, but most of the country is still basking in summer. We are all feeling pretty pleased about that, but sheep and beef farmers’ grins are the widest reports Jon Morgan from the Dom Post. After three years of drought on the North Island’s east coast, its farmers are revelling in the greenness of their hills. And it’s the same all over – except for Northland, which is experiencing a drought for the first time in more than 10 years.

And even in Northland all is not lost. Farmers from further down the island are turning up at stock sales in Wellsford and Kaikohe to buy weaner steers at prices that will help lift sagging spirits. For dairy farmers, the joys of a green summer come mainly from less stress on their cows, although the slightly increased milk they are giving will mean a timely lift in profits in a high payout year. Fonterra reports milk flow is almost 2 per cent up on last year, despite the Northland drought, though a big contributor is the new South Island conversions.

(more…)

The UN Food and Agricultural Organisation (FOA) wants a global livestock tax to reduce the contribution their flatulence makes to greenhouse gas emissions reports Rural News.

The FAO says urgent investments, major agricultural research efforts and robust governance are required to ensure the world’s livestock sector responds to a growing demand for animal products and at the same time contributes to poverty reduction, food security, environmental sustainability and human health. “The sector is consuming a large share of the world’s resources and is contributing a significant portion of global greenhouse gases emissions,” the FAO’s State of Food and Agriculture report says.

(more…)

Landcorp Farming, the country’s biggest farmer, has produced a narrowed half-year loss helped by higher milk prices and cost control reports Stuff. The SOE today revealed a net operating loss of $6.3 million for the six months to December. That compares to a loss of $10.3m in the same period of the previous year.

Landcorp said higher milk prices boosted dairy income by 16 percent to $39.1m. This helped offset a 19 percent fall, largely thanks to the strong New Zealand dollar, to $33.9m in returns to meat producers. Landcorp said it had managed expenditure “rigorously” with total expenses falling 14 percent to $72.2m, although some purchasing had been delayed until the second-half given price trends for the likes of  fertiliser and fuel.

(more…)

The battle to vanquish bovine tuberculosis (TB) from New Zealand is in top gear as infected herd numbers fell for the fifteenth consecutive year. Dr Paul Livingstone, Technical Manager for the Animal Health Board (AHB), says the drop in infection rates will allow for movement control boundary changes and a reduction in TB testing reports Scoop.

“Farmers throughout New Zealand will certainly reap the rewards from falling TB levels in cattle and deer,” says Dr Livingstone. “The success of the AHB’s vector control programme and the resulting drop in infected herd numbers means changes will be made to several special testing areas (STA). This in turn will lead to a reduction in TB testing schedules on more than 2,045 farms across New Zealand.

“What’s more, another 1,500 farmers no longer need to pre-movement test their animals before they sell or shift them The boundary reduction of four movement control areas will also generate significant benefits for farmers and farm managers in those areas. “The AHB is very proud to deliver some direct benefits to some of the 75,000 cattle and deer herds registered with the organisation.

“We have achieved this through proactive possum control, TB testing and stock movement monitoring. Yet none of it would have been possible without the help and cooperation of farmers. “While there is much good news to shout about, farmers and the AHB must remain vigilant as history has taught us some valuable lessons. Particularly when you consider TB infection rates peaked at more than 1,700 in the early 1990s.

 Scientists in the US have developed an antibody-based test for bovine tuberculosis (bTb) reports The Beef Site. The new multiplex antibody test is able to detect antibody activity to 25 antigens at one time, something that was previously not possible. The new test may one day replace the current skin and gamma interferon tissue culture tests.

Currently there is no effective treatment for bTb, so early diagnosis is critical. This new test can detect the disease faster and with great accuracy. Dr William Davis, professor in Washington State University’s Veterinary Microbiology and Pathology department said: “Our test can provide results in a matter of hours rather than days with current methods. It also has increased specificity and is highly sensitive, so there are fewer false positives.”

(more…)