K28 Reports

The Maize grain industry in New Zealand has remained relatively static over the last 5 years in both the human and animal food sectors. The domestic market in New Zealand presents limited opportunities to expand in both the food and animal sectors. In addition, New Zealand’s internal market which is 80% driven by demand from … Read more

The purpose of this report was to look at opportunities for young managers within the dry stock industry and to determine in my opinion whether there is a clear career path or not. And if there is a path, what does the young manager and the industry as a whole, have to do to ensure … Read more

With the world rapidly growing in population, and New Zealand’s land resources remaining finite, it is crucial to ensure that our agricultural produce has a comparative advantage in our export markets. The purpose of this report is to understand the current Chinese market, identify opportunities and challenges for the New Zealand brand in food products, … Read more

This report looks into how employees feel in their current workplace, how they view their efforts, their ethics, how they view their employer and career. Harden Brad

Water quality issues are at the forefront of people’s minds at present. The sheep and beef sector is coming under increasing pressure to ‘do their bit’ to improve water quality on farm. This is not necessarily a straight forward task, and there are a number of barriers preventing widespread action. The sector is also coming … Read more

This paper will try to explore some of the reasons why equity partnerships are becoming more common, and look at some of the variables that should be investigated if wishing to enter an equity partnership. I have tried to list some things to look out for, for those considering entering or setting up an equity … Read more

The traditional New Zealand meat industry payment system has historically benefited farmers for through-put of livestock with little incentive to improve carcass quality or meat yield. This existing kill payment structure reacts to short term market signals and encourages farmers to “chase” higher seasonal returns, and, as is the case in the venison industry these … Read more

Today’s Farmer is a professional businessperson operating in a culture of complexity. The business focus requires many skills in the endeavour of converting energy into food. The challenges of managing production costs, developing the business, weather and bio-security risk, fluctuating commodity and financial markets, and environmental management are many. In a world increasingly concerned with … Read more

Angus Pure is a branded Beef program owned 50 percent by the New Zealand Angus Association, the remaining 50 percent is privately owned. New Zealand Angus Association has 325 active members supplying Angus genetics to commercial beef farmers as part of their branded program. The objective of this program is to create a greater demand … Read more

The selection goal of the New Zealand dairy industry National Breeding Objective (NBO) is to identify animals whose progeny will be the most efficient converters of feed into farmer profit. Desired traits and their relative importance in the form of an economic value are combined to produce an index known as Breeding Worth (BW). This … Read more

Wool is one of the oldest commodities still in existence today, and indeed man has used wool for over 10,000 years as a source of food and clothing. However with the advent of the synthetic industry with its vast investments into research development and marketing; wool has struggled to compete on price and sheep numbers … Read more

The great debate refers to the on-going angst New Zealanders are feeling over foreign ownership of some of our most prized possessions – rural land. This contentious issue requires an honest view about what foreign ownership of our pastoral land really looks like, using reliable figures and removing emotion from the issues; is the only … Read more

Little did Isabel Fraser know, that when she returned in 1904 from Yangtze Province in China with Chinese Gooseberry seeds, that 100+ years on, those seeds would create a billion $ Kiwifruit Industry. The examination of the past is essential for drawing lessons from previous experiences so that informed future decisions can be made. Key … Read more

This research assignment aims to look at the need for diversification in horticultural crops within regions. This has become evident through the unwanted introduction of Psa to New Zealand. Regions such as the Bay of Plenty are largely exposed to the kiwifruit industry which is concerning when currently the outlook on the industry is still … Read more

The business case for gender diversity is well documented; women make up 46% of the New Zealand workforce, women control 65% of global spending (Continuum) and yet how does New Zealand agribusiness sit in the leadership space? The Human Rights Commission report of August 2010 ( NZ Human Rights Commission, 2010) indicates that 11.84% is … Read more

In this paper I intend to explore the concept of establishing Producer Groups. I see the establishment of such groups as a way of establishing a better link with processors and exporters and a way of establishing a premium for the groups produce. It is my opinion that Producer groups only really suit dedicated farmers … Read more