Latest news with #GianinaSchwanecke
Otago Daily Times
04-07-2025
- Business
- Otago Daily Times
NZ no longer in state of 'peak tractor'
By Gianina Schwanecke of RNZ New Zealand has fallen from "peak tractor", with bigger machinery, rising on-farm costs and farmers becoming more efficient driving sales down. Infometrics chief executive Brad Olsen says as a key piece of farm equipment, tractors have long been thought of as a good economic indicator of farm spending and investment. The more tractors, the more spending, and in turn the better the health of the primary sector - but this was changing, he said. Recent Infometrics' analysis of data from Stats NZ and the New Zealand Transport Agency showed the country hit 'peak tractor' in 2022. It showed the number of active tractors registered in New Zealand reached a peak of 34,549 in March 2022. By March this year that had dropped 4.4 percent to 33,044. The decline in tractor numbers is largely due to the low number of new tractor registrations over time. In the 12 months to April this year, there were 1925 new tractors registered in New Zealand, down 17 percent from a year ago and the smallest annual total since mid-2001. Both the actual number of registered tractors, and the 12-month moving average, have now fallen below 33,000, the first time tractor numbers have been beneath this threshold since 2017. Olsen said the drop was being driven by a range of factors, including changes in technology and farming practices. "Particularly the likes of larger tractors coming on stream, larger farms meaning you don't need quite as many tractors because of larger parcels of land, and also a bit more corporitisation of farming in New Zealand where people are using contractors and similar to ensure whatever they're buying tractors and otherwise are most efficiently used." Olsen acknowledged challenging conditions in recent years, including increased on-farm costs and higher interest rates, had put pressure on farmers and limited opportunities for new investment with many running tractors for as long as possible. He said a level of continued concentration in farms across the country into larger farm operations may have also contributed to a rationalisation of tractor assets nationally. Farmers also seemed to be investing differently as was evident at the recent Mystery Creek Fieldays near Hamilton. "People are starting to increasingly embrace a much wider more diverse set of technology in the primary sector," Olsen said. "You know there were a lot more drones at Fieldays this year, a lot of talk about wearables and the importance of the productivity gains that those sort of options bring." Tractor sales at the Fieldays seemed to have been buoyed though by the government's new tax incentive for farm machinery. Tractor and Machinery Association president Jaiden Drought said the Fieldays had been "fantastic". "Everyone went into the Fieldays very buoyant and the show was certainly a success. Everyone had significantly higher inquiry - they thought that even day one of the show was better than all the days combined last year." Drought felt the drop-off since 2022 related to post-Covid conditions, which included farmers using tractors for longer and more jobs on farm. He said some of this market uncertainty remained, especially given the current geopolitical outlook. "I think the trend will see an upswing in machinery sales, I think we're just in a little bit of a holding pattern." He expected sales to improve in the spring.
Otago Daily Times
25-06-2025
- General
- Otago Daily Times
Animal rights advocates renew calls to end colony-cage egg farms
By Gianina Schwanecke of RNZ There are renewed calls from animal rights advocates for an end to colony-cage egg farms. The Open Wing Alliance launched an international campaign about conditions in caged egg production farms which they said were harmful for chickens' welfare and created conditions that increased the risk of disease like avian influenza. However, the Egg Producers Federation of New Zealand rejected such claims as "a nonsense". Jennifer Dutton, of Animals Aotearoa, which is part of the Open Wing Alliance, shared their concerns. She said colony cages weren't much better than battery, or conventional cages, which were phased out of use in New Zealand over 10 years by 2023. "New Zealanders are under the impression we don't have caged eggs and that's been deliberately cultivated," she said. "We still very much have the colony cage. Sometimes called the enriched cage." Dutton said she wanted an end to colony cages in New Zealand too. "When we look at birds that have been trapped in colony cages stacked up as if they are a product, you see birds that are massively missing feather patches, you see pale cones. They're totally deprived of all those natural in-built chicken behaviours, scratching in the dirt, foraging for bugs, even fully stretching out their wings." However, Michael Brooks of the Egg Producers Federation of New Zealand said colony egg farms were a "credible system". He said the National Animal Welfare Advisory Committee (NAWAC) "unanimously and independently" decided to allow egg producers to move to colony cages, barns and free-range systems after the ban of battery cages. "The height is higher, they have a nesting area, they have a scratch pad, and they have perches for every bird. And the three primary welfare behaviours of a layer hen are nesting, perching and scratching," he said. "Therefore that is one of the reasons there was support for the colony system. Combine that with the reduced risk from environmental reasons is one of the reasons it was approved by NAWAC." Of concerns raised about the potential spread of avian influenza in such set-ups, he said it was "a nonsense". "Avian influenza is in the environment. It's actually our free-range operations that are most at risk from avian influenza. It's not the colony sector that's going to be a major risk." Brooks said the federation and the Poultry Industry Association of New Zealand (PIANZ) had been working closely with farmers, along with the Ministry for Primary Industries, to try and mitigate the risks of avian influenza spreading. MPI's director of compliance and response Glen Burrell said of the seven complaints received by the ministry this year about the welfare of layer hens on commercial farms, no offending was found in six, with one case still being investigated. Burrell said following the ban of conventional, or battery cages, egg producers had the option to move to colony cages, barns and free-range systems. He said it was decided by NAWAC that colony cages and barns provided more space than battery cages, and enable hens to express normal behaviours such as perching, pecking, nesting, and scratching. NAWAC plans to review of the Code of Welfare for layer hens as part of its work programme. Meanwhile the Commerce Commission has opened a compliance project in relation to the labelling of colony-laid eggs.
Otago Daily Times
25-06-2025
- General
- Otago Daily Times
Renewed calls to end colony-cage egg farms
By Gianina Schwanecke of RNZ There are renewed calls from animal rights advocates for an end to colony-cage egg farms. The Open Wing Alliance launched an international campaign about conditions in caged egg production farms which they said were harmful for chickens' welfare and created conditions that increased the risk of disease like avian influenza. However, the Egg Producers Federation of New Zealand rejected such claims as "a nonsense". Jennifer Dutton, of Animals Aotearoa, which is part of the Open Wing Alliance, shared their concerns. She said colony cages weren't much better than battery, or conventional cages, which were phased out of use in New Zealand over 10 years by 2023. "New Zealanders are under the impression we don't have caged eggs and that's been deliberately cultivated," she said. "We still very much have the colony cage. Sometimes called the enriched cage." Dutton said she wanted an end to colony cages in New Zealand too. "When we look at birds that have been trapped in colony cages stacked up as if they are a product, you see birds that are massively missing feather patches, you see pale cones. They're totally deprived of all those natural in-built chicken behaviours, scratching in the dirt, foraging for bugs, even fully stretching out their wings." However, Michael Brooks of the Egg Producers Federation of New Zealand said colony egg farms were a "credible system". He said the National Animal Welfare Advisory Committee (NAWAC) "unanimously and independently" decided to allow egg producers to move to colony cages, barns and free-range systems after the ban of battery cages. "The height is higher, they have a nesting area, they have a scratch pad, and they have perches for every bird. And the three primary welfare behaviours of a layer hen are nesting, perching and scratching," he said. "Therefore that is one of the reasons there was support for the colony system. Combine that with the reduced risk from environmental reasons is one of the reasons it was approved by NAWAC." Of concerns raised about the potential spread of avian influenza in such set-ups, he said it was "a nonsense". "Avian influenza is in the environment. It's actually our free-range operations that are most at risk from avian influenza. It's not the colony sector that's going to be a major risk." Brooks said the federation and the Poultry Industry Association of New Zealand (PIANZ) had been working closely with farmers, along with the Ministry for Primary Industries, to try and mitigate the risks of avian influenza spreading. MPI's director of compliance and response Glen Burrell said of the seven complaints received by the ministry this year about the welfare of layer hens on commercial farms, no offending was found in six, with one case still being investigated. Burrell said following the ban of conventional, or battery cages, egg producers had the option to move to colony cages, barns and free-range systems. He said it was decided by NAWAC that colony cages and barns provided more space than battery cages, and enable hens to express normal behaviours such as perching, pecking, nesting, and scratching. NAWAC plans to review of the Code of Welfare for layer hens as part of its work programme. Meanwhile the Commerce Commission has opened a compliance project in relation to the labelling of colony-laid eggs.
Scoop
13-06-2025
- Business
- Scoop
Farmers Still Rushing To Convert Land To Forestry
Article – RNZ Whole farm-to-forest conversions continue, according to a new report released by Beef and Lamb New Zealand. Gianina Schwanecke, Producer/Presenter Whole farm-to-forest conversions continue, according to a new report released by Beef and Lamb New Zealand. The research, carried out by Orme and Associates on behalf of Beef and Lamb, found close to 40,000 hectares of sheep and beef farms had been sold for forestry since September last year. The report also confirmed 29,518ha had sold in 2023 and 30,483ha in 2024. It brings the total amount of farm-to-forestry conversions since January 2017 to more than 300,000-ha. Beef and Lamb estimates this has resulted in the loss of more than 2 million stock units since 2017. Chair Kate Acland said the data underpinned longstanding concerns about whole farm-to-forestry conversions. 'The numbers show whole-farm sales for conversion to forestry for carbon credits are continuing at pace,' she said. 'What we're really concerned about is whole farms, really good productive land getting planted into trees.' The research showed Hawke's Bay, Wellington and Wairarapa remained preferred locations, while Southland had also seen a notable increase. There was a significant slowdown in the Gisborne region, likely due to the environmental impacts of adverse weather events such as Cyclone Gabrielle and tightened harvesting conditions being set by regional councils. Acland said they were not against incorporating forestry within farms, adding if most farmers planted 10 percent of their least productive land in trees, they could still maintain production. 'We're very supportive of incorporating trees within farms. and I think there's a real opportunity here for farmers to be part of the solution.' This week the government introduced new legislation to restrict farm-to-forest conversions on Land Use Classification (LUC) 1-6 land. Under the changes, which will retroactively take effect from December last year when the policy was originally announced, up to a quarter of farms can be planted in forestry for the Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS). There will also be a ban on full farm-to-forest conversions entering the ETS for actively farmed land and an annual cap of 15,000ha for forestry entering the ETS for lower quality farmland. Acland said while the government putting restrictions around whole farm to forest conversions was positive, she wasn't sure it went far enough. 'Anecdotally we're still hearing of a significant number of farms being sold this year, despite the government announcing the limits last year. 'We're concerned that some sales are continuing on the basis of intent to purchase land before the limits were announced. We urgently need the government to tighten the criteria around proof of intent to purchase.' Additionally, she was particularly concerned about class 6 land, which she said was 'some of the most productive sheep and beef breeding country'. Acland said carbon forestry had a comparatively 'short-term return' when compared to sheep and beef. 'I think we need to recognise the importance of the red meat sector for the economy of this country.' Federated Farmers national president Wayne Langford echoed some of these concerns, saying the country was approaching critical mass for sheep production. He said the new forestry conversion rules were moving 'slowly'. 'We're gonna see more processing plants close, we're gonna see a lot more communities close down unless we do something about this issue across the country.' The legislation is now before Parliament and is to come into force October 2025.
NZ Herald
09-06-2025
- Automotive
- NZ Herald
Pongaroa hunting competition raises $13,000 for rescue helicopter
By Gianina Schwanecke of RNZ There's a steady stream of utes winding down the usually quiet main street of Pongaroa, waiting their turn to have their game weighed as part of the Pongaroar hunting competition. The annual Easter event brings together hundreds of hunters, farmers, locals and spectators to raise
