Flawed ETS settings hurt NZ beef sector, stud bull breeders struggle
New Zealand's Emissions Trading Scheme settings are flawed, and that's hurting stud bull breeders and the wider beef sector.
According to a 2023 report commissioned by Beef + Lamb NZ, New Zealand is the only country, aside from Kazakhstan, to allow 100% offsetting of carbon emissions by forestry within the
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RNZ News
2 days ago
- RNZ News
The Panel with Chris Wikaira and Leonie Freeman Part 1
Tonight, on The Panel, Wallace Chapman is joined by panellists Chris Wikaira and Leonie Freeman. To begin, it's D-Day for the US tariffs, and New Zealand has been hit with a 15% rate. This is a rise from the originally proposed 10%. Kate Acland, chair of Beef and Lamb NZ, joins the panel to unpack how much of an impat this will have on exports. Then, they revisit speed humps in Manurewa: are there too many, or is their presence justified? To embed this content on your own webpage, cut and paste the following: See terms of use.
RNZ News
2 days ago
- RNZ News
Dairy farmers explore beefier genetics with US cattle rancher
Lee Leachman from Wyoming was talking to New Zealand farmers about capitalising on global beef prices. Photo: supplied A longtime Hawke's Bay bull breeder says dairy farmers are knocking on his door in search of a new source of revenue. Jeremy Absolom farms a large herd with multiple breeds across nearly 2000 hectares with his brothers at the Rissington settlement northwest of Napier. Supplying sheep and beef farmers with bulls and semen has been the farm's bread and butter going back generations. These days large dairy operators are a growing chunk of the Rissington Cattle Company's business. Jeremy Absolom, a bull breeder in Hawke's Bay, out in the paddock at the Rissington Cattle Company. Photo: supplied This week Absolom ran a seminar in Canterbury to show farmers the results of using beef semen to breed with dairy cows. The speaker was the leading American rancher Lee Leachman, of Leachman Cattle in Wyoming. Leachman said it's a "significant source of revenue" in the United States and initial results from New Zealand are promising. "I remarked to the group that in the United States the day old beef on dairy calf is worth well over US$1200 per calf. Everyone was just shocked," Leachman said. Beef-cross calves are generally more valuable than straightbred dairy calves, especially when sold for beef. Jeremy Absolom pictured in the aftermath of Cyclone Gabrielle at the site of the destroyed Rissington Bridge. Photo: RNZ / Maja Burry "There was a fair bit of opinion that they'd be hard pressed to get them to perform as beef-cross calves. But the results we saw this week were promising. They looked to be quite valuable," Leachman said. Absolom said the Rissington breeding operation was a trailblazer integrating beef to dairy in the 1990s. On a visit to the US this year he said it was interesting to hear how the industry talks about it. "In the United States it's coined as a co-product, rather than a by product." Meanwhile back in Hawke's Bay on the farm at Rissington, Absolom said he's grateful for the strong market as the business continues its recovery from Cyclone Gabrielle. They lost cattle yards, a wool shed and accommodation buildings. The river valley was covered in thick layers of silt and the Rissington bridge was washed out as the river gave way. He said it's been a slow and steady recovery. And a lift in demand from a more traditional source of income has also come at the right time. "Traditional beef farmers have been over the last few years lifting the beef part of their business as a share of their overall stocking rates," Absolom said. Lee Leachman and Daniel Absolom at Rissington. Photo: supplied "They're down in their sheep numbers and up in their beef moving towards 50:50 rather than in some cases what was once as high as 80:20 in favour of sheep." Sign up for Ngā Pitopito Kōrero , a daily newsletter curated by our editors and delivered straight to your inbox every weekday.
Otago Daily Times
4 days ago
- Otago Daily Times
Young leaders to step up: president
The election of Canterbury sharemilker Karl Dean to the national dairy chairman role for Federated Farmers will cause Bex Green to step up as North Canterbury's president. Mr Dean, 36, replaced former dairy chairman Richard McIntyre and also takes his position on the national board with Richard Dawkins, 35, replacing Toby Williams to also join the national board. Federated Farmers president Wayne Langford said the two young leaders were stepping up into significant national leadership roles. "While they may be new to our national team, they're by no means new to Federated Farmers. They've held senior leadership roles within our organisation for some time now. Karl and Richard are both highly respected and experienced farmers within their regions, and have worked their way up from the grassroots." Mr Dean was previously the North Canterbury provincial president and vice-chairman of the national dairy council. "It's also been a huge honour to work with Richard McIntyre over the past seven years on the dairy council, and his 12 years of service hasn't gone unnoticed. His leadership has helped shape a strong, positive culture, and I'm committed to carrying that legacy forward." Mr Dawkins, who farms with his wife Jess in the Waihopai Valley near Blenheim, was elected as the organisation's new national meat and wool chairman. He has previously spent five years on the national meat and wool council and two years as Marlborough's vice-president. Mrs Green said the provincial president role had been in her sights for some time and she had just been waiting for the right moment for her family and her farming business. "Dairy farming is my passion, but I'm really excited that as president I'll get to broaden my horizons and come to grips with the issues in meat, wool and arable as well." She contract milks 1000 cows with her husband Blair in Culverden and was the province's vice-president under former president Caroline Amyes. With a third child still a toddler, she stayed as vice-president and took on the province's dairy chairwoman role when Mr Dean took over as president. Mrs Green has also been elected national dairy vice-chairwoman, the position Mr Dean vacated. She was named Federated Farmers 2024 Dairy Advocate of the Year for her leadership on issues such as streamlining a path to work in the dairy sector for immigrants. She was ready to tackle challenges to farmers. "Our North Canterbury sheep and beef farmers have been under huge pressure in recent years. They've had all those existing issues impacting the sector — and then a horrific drought on top of that. With the Federated Farmers 'Save our Sheep' campaign now well under way, my hope is we can bring more local sheep farmers back into the fold and really give them a voice and a platform." With three children under 13, she still finds time for multi-sports as a former Coast to Coast competitor, winning team categories for the past two years.
