Latest news with #PrimaryIndustriesNewZealandAwards
Otago Daily Times
09-07-2025
- Business
- Otago Daily Times
Voice for primary industries, rural communities for nearly 60 years
A Gore-born farmer, lobbyist and ex-politician was surprised to win an award recently after only putting forward a nomination in the hope it would raise his profile. At the Primary Industries New Zealand Awards in Christchurch last month, Eric Roy won the outstanding contribution to primary industries award. As chairman of NZ Pork, a councillor for Environment Southland and on various advisory panels, Mr Roy said he thought it might be a good idea for his profile to put his hat in the ring. It still came as a surprise however, when he realised, he might be winning on the night. "I was sitting there ... and I thought, why are five of my senior staff and three of my fellow directors here at our table?" "I need to cobble a few thoughts together." When The Ensign spoke to him a week later he had already had a productive morning, helping his farm manager in Te Anau. Past retirement age, the six-term MP shows no signs of slowing down. "I can't help myself," he said. "People say, when are you going to retire? And I say, when I'm old, I'm only 77." The awards judging panel said Mr Roy was a voice for primary industries and rural communities, for nearly 60 years. When asked what problems were facing farmers and rural communities today, politically and financially, he listed three things. In no particular order, he cited the dwindling numbers of farmers, the politics of the environment and the controversy of genetic modification as key problems. The succession model of owners handing down their farms to their children, as his had done, was no longer working. "Some figures that were given at the Primary Industry Conference were like about 40% of current farmers are over 65," he said. "I can't remember the exact figure, but it was just saying hang on, we need to recruit some more people into the industry." He also said climate change had become a "non-tariff barrier against farmers". He said countries in Europe had set the standards for climate action in a way that was tilted against countries like New Zealand. His final point was that it was needed next to decide what was happening with genetic engineering, as it was used freely for such things as medical research and the production of insulin for diabetics. Yet genetic engineering was frowned upon when it came to enhancing farming in areas like pest-control, creating drought-resistant grasses and products that reduced methane gas in ruminant animals, he said. "There's a very noisy group of people saying we can't do this in agriculture." He said as chairman of NZ Pork it had been trying to get a new welfare code for four "torturous" years. With new space and farrowing rules, he hoped to have the new code finalised in a couple of months. That was why he was happy to be nominated for the outstanding contribution award, to give him more credibility when ringing up a government minister or presenting submissions on these issues. "That was probably the driver."
Otago Daily Times
25-06-2025
- General
- Otago Daily Times
'Top farmer' posthumously named Rural Hero
The late Mid Canterbury farmer Chris Allen was posthumously named Rural Hero in a touching moment at the Primary Industries New Zealand Awards. Mr Allen, 62, died after he was electrocuted while fixing a garage door last December, leaving a rural community paying tribute to his leadership and negotiating skills as a Federated Farmers board member for eight years. In other highlights Federated Farmers Bay of Plenty sharefarmer chairwoman Bridie Virbickas was presented with the Emerging Leader Award at the annual awards ceremony in Christchurch. More than 400 farmers and industry people attended the function, part of the two-day Primary Industries New Zealand (PINZ) Summit. Mr Allen's contribution to farming led supporters to say every farming family was in his debt for his years of championing rural causes. Judges praised the collaborative nature, persistence and practicality of the Federated Farmers leader for his advocacy on freshwater, environmental and biodiversity issues. "A top farmer in his own right, he led with humour and knowledge." The judging panel described Ms Virbickas as making a strong mark in the dairy sector - managing 850 cows while leading beyond the farm gate. As an elected sharefarmer leader, she supports fellow farmers in areas such as dispute resolution, and practical workshops. She is also a founding trustee of AgRecovery, helping reduce farm waste nationwide, and leads on-farm restoration projects with schools and councils. Southland farmer and NZ Pork chairman since 2019 Eric Roy was presented with the Outstanding Contribution to Primary Industries Award. His production, leadership and political service to primary industries and rural communities spans nearly 60 years. The six-term Member of Parliament has held roles with Federated Farmers, Pāmu, the Meat & Wool Board and other community and charity initiatives. "Few can match his contribution - Eric Roy is a truly exceptional New Zealander," the judging panel said. NZPork deputy chairman Jason Palmer said his decades of service to farming, rural communities and public life reflected a commitment to doing the right thing. 'He has provided invaluable leadership to NZPork during his time as chairman on our board, helping shape the future of sustainable pig farming in New Zealand. We're really pleased to see that contribution recognised at a national level.' A Foundation for Arable Research (FAR) project to help farmers get the most out of their combine harvesters won the Technology Innovation Award. Workshops and follow-up one-on-one sessions resulted in improvements in harvest efficiency, productivity, sustainability and profitability. Farmers reported increases in yields of between 20% and 50%. FAR technology manager Chris Smith said the workshops showed the importance of growers measuring and monitoring potential grain and seed losses and fine-tuning settings. 'Growers have only one opportunity to harvest a crop. Once it is gone out the back of the harvester it is too late.' The Team and Collaboration Award went to Fonterra, LIC, Ballance and Ravensdown for an open data sharing ecosystem, saving farmers an estimated 250,000 hours so far in administration. Dr Robyn Dyne won the Primary Industries Champion Award for her research in nitrate leaching and emissions. Food, Beverage and Fibre Producer Award winners Chia Sisters combines fruit and ingredients such as kawakawa and chia seeds in their health food drinks and were singled out for their commitment to sustainability and innovation. PacificVet and co-founder Dr Kent Keitemeyer won the Guardianship and Conservation/Kaitiakitanga Award.
NZ Herald
24-06-2025
- Business
- NZ Herald
2025 Primary Industries New Zealand Awards: Emerging and seasoned leaders honoured
A young Federated Farmers leader building her expertise advocating for the sector, and a man who became a master at it, are among those recognised in the 2025 Primary Industries New Zealand Awards. Federated Farmers Bay of Plenty sharefarmer chair Bridie Virbickas was presented with the Emerging Leader Award, and
Otago Daily Times
17-06-2025
- Business
- Otago Daily Times
Investor backing sought by ovine collagen company
A Christchurch biotech company extracting an innovative protein from sheepskins to make mainly health benefit and nutrition ingredients for export markets is about to launch a capital raise. Tertiary Extracts Ōtautahi (TEO) has quickly grown to 30 staff and set up a factory processing more than 550 tonnes of waste sheepskins into collagen since beginning operations last year. The company was created by four co-founders, including chief scientific officer Dr Rob Kelly, who want to build sales in the functional foods, dietary supplements and personal care sectors. Research began in 2021 to develop Ovitage — ovine collagen with a greater range of amino acids higher in cystine, tyrosine and glutamic acid — followed by marketplace testing. Initial ingredient sales to the United States, with plans to enter Europe and Asia, and TEO's launch of its own range for women encouraged the founders to seek investment to step up production. Dr Kelly said the capital raise was expected to take place within the next few months. "We are in the beginnings of business and, based on the opportunity that we see from this interest we are getting in early exports, we are looking to grow significantly. So we will be undertaking a capital raise shortly to drive this growth both in the entry of new markets and supporting further work to identify different health benefits." They wanted to ideally work with strategic investors who understood the overall sector and specifically the nutritional market, he said. They were "open and flexible" to a range of possibilities, which could include a shareholding. Initial investment came from the founders and their families and friends, with support also from Callaghan Innovation, Ārohia Innovation Trailblazer grant and the Agricultural and Marketing Research and Development Trust (Agmardt). Development research was carried out at Lincoln Agritech. Dr Kelly said they saw the main growth for the "world's most complete collagen" coming from the branded ingredient market, but had just released a finished product brand. Last October, TEO launched its Everee Women range of functional protein supplements, with different product formulations for each stage of women's lives. The range is combined with local plant extracts and biologicals to help with ageing and menopause. Another perimenopause product combines Ovitage with a kiwifruit extract for gut health, while a post-menopause product has a blackcurrant extract to help brain health and cognitive performance. Dr Kelly said women's health was a key area of focus because TEO's highly functional proteins addressed their under-served needs. TEO is a finalist in the technology innovation category for the Primary Industries New Zealand Awards and also an early-stage category finalist in the Fieldays Innovation Awards. The founders had been working in the nutritional space for many years in dietary and food supplements, particularly in the US. "The [global] collagen market is over $US9 billion [about $NZ14.9b] and still growing quickly, so we saw that New Zealand didn't really operate in it of any significance and we also saw opportunities in that market." Bovine collagen had associated environmental issues as it could come from factory-farmed beef or cattle raised on Brazilian land clear-felled of rain forest, while consumers were seeking differentiated proteins providing health benefits, he said. "So, we looked at New Zealand materials and we produce a lot of raw material for collagen in the form of sheepskins from the red meat sector which are traceable, ethically sourced and grass fed with no-one felling rain forests to grow sheep and the sheepskin has a novel material. Nobody has really looked at ovine collagens and it barely features in this massive collagen market so we undertook the research to look at that." Hundreds of thousands of waste sheepskins supplied by red meat processors would likely have gone into landfills. A novel way was developed to isolate proteins from sheepskin materials to produce the patented Ovitage process and product for ovine collagen. The amino acid profile produced a differentiated protein with greater health benefits, he said. "Those amino acids are well understood as being important in particular health areas, and these were identified through our market analysis which were not being well met by existing proteins, particularly in women's health in the menopause area and the sport nutrition area." For example, cystine aided healthy hair and nails, which was important for menopausal women, and helped with leaky gut syndrome. A higher level of branched chain amino acids assisted with building and maintaining lean body mass, particularly for ageing women and men. TEO proteins are mainly sold in powder form for overseas customers to make their own smoothies, protein bars, gummies and other formulations or turn into capsules for dietary supplements.
Otago Daily Times
17-06-2025
- Business
- Otago Daily Times
Investor backing sought by bovine collagen company
A Christchurch biotech company extracting an innovative protein from sheepskins to make mainly health benefit and nutrition ingredients for export markets is about to launch a capital raise. Tertiary Extracts Ōtautahi (TEO) has quickly grown to 30 staff and set up a factory processing more than 550 tonnes of waste sheepskins into collagen since beginning operations last year. The company was created by four co-founders, including chief scientific officer Dr Rob Kelly, who want to build sales in the functional foods, dietary supplements and personal care sectors. Research began in 2021 to develop Ovitage — ovine collagen with a greater range of amino acids higher in cystine, tyrosine and glutamic acid — followed by marketplace testing. Initial ingredient sales to the United States, with plans to enter Europe and Asia, and TEO's launch of its own range for women encouraged the founders to seek investment to step up production. Dr Kelly said the capital raise was expected to take place within the next few months. "We are in the beginnings of business and, based on the opportunity that we see from this interest we are getting in early exports, we are looking to grow significantly. So we will be undertaking a capital raise shortly to drive this growth both in the entry of new markets and supporting further work to identify different health benefits." They wanted to ideally work with strategic investors who understood the overall sector and specifically the nutritional market, he said. They were "open and flexible" to a range of possibilities, which could include a shareholding. Initial investment came from the founders and their families and friends, with support also from Callaghan Innovation, Ārohia Innovation Trailblazer grant and the Agricultural and Marketing Research and Development Trust (Agmardt). Development research was carried out at Lincoln Agritech. Dr Kelly said they saw the main growth for the "world's most complete collagen" coming from the branded ingredient market, but had just released a finished product brand. Last October, TEO launched its Everee Women range of functional protein supplements, with different product formulations for each stage of women's lives. The range is combined with local plant extracts and biologicals to help with ageing and menopause. Another perimenopause product combines Ovitage with a kiwifruit extract for gut health, while a post-menopause product has a blackcurrant extract to help brain health and cognitive performance. Dr Kelly said women's health was a key area of focus because TEO's highly functional proteins addressed their under-served needs. TEO is a finalist in the technology innovation category for the Primary Industries New Zealand Awards and also an early-stage category finalist in the Fieldays Innovation Awards. The founders had been working in the nutritional space for many years in dietary and food supplements, particularly in the US. "The [global] collagen market is over $US9 billion [about $NZ14.9b] and still growing quickly, so we saw that New Zealand didn't really operate in it of any significance and we also saw opportunities in that market." Bovine collagen had associated environmental issues as it could come from factory-farmed beef or cattle raised on Brazilian land clear-felled of rain forest, while consumers were seeking differentiated proteins providing health benefits, he said. "So, we looked at New Zealand materials and we produce a lot of raw material for collagen in the form of sheepskins from the red meat sector which are traceable, ethically sourced and grass fed with no-one felling rain forests to grow sheep and the sheepskin has a novel material. Nobody has really looked at ovine collagens and it barely features in this massive collagen market so we undertook the research to look at that." Hundreds of thousands of waste sheepskins supplied by red meat processors would likely have gone into landfills. A novel way was developed to isolate proteins from sheepskin materials to produce the patented Ovitage process and product for ovine collagen. The amino acid profile produced a differentiated protein with greater health benefits, he said. "Those amino acids are well understood as being important in particular health areas, and these were identified through our market analysis which were not being well met by existing proteins, particularly in women's health in the menopause area and the sport nutrition area." For example, cystine aided healthy hair and nails, which was important for menopausal women, and helped with leaky gut syndrome. A higher level of branched chain amino acids assisted with building and maintaining lean body mass, particularly for ageing women and men. TEO proteins are mainly sold in powder form for overseas customers to make their own smoothies, protein bars, gummies and other formulations or turn into capsules for dietary supplements.
