B+LNZ quarterly activity update July 2025

Welcome to a snapshot of work currently underway, funded by farmer levies. 

Many of these areas are also covered in updates during the Director Roadshow meetings – we encourage you to head along to a meeting near you if they’re still running in your area. You’ll also get a chance to connect with your local B+LNZ director and extension team, ask questions, and tell us what matters most to your farming business. More info and to register here.

Investing in research to improve productivity, profitability and resilience on farm

Guided by regular feedback from the Farmer Research Advisory Group (FRAG), other farmers, and sector experts, our projects are co-developed to deliver practical solutions that matter at ground level. 

1. Facial eczema (FE)

Facial eczema remains one of the sector’s most costly and complex animal health challenges. B+LNZ, with co-funding provided by the Ministry of Primary Industries through the Sustainable Food and Fibre Fund, is leading the seven-year Eliminating Facial Eczema Impacts (EFEI) programme with a $20.75 million investment focused on developing practical tools and new solutions for farmers.

• Tracking FE spores through the Sheep Poo Study
  We’ll soon be heading into year 3 of this ground-breaking study. Since 2023, over 300 farms across 16 regions have collected faecal samples from October to May, feeding into a national spore risk map that helps farmers monitor seasonal threats and act early. Spores have been confirmed as far south as Otago for two years in a row, meaning that our South Island farmers and veterinarians need to start considering FE as part of animal health management. Over two years, more than 5,000 spore count results have been reported, with over 7,300 hours of farmer input shaping this critical work. The data is also being used to build a predictive risk model for FE to enable better planning for when this disease is likely to appear.
• Breakthrough in identifying the FE toxin
  Research by Manaaki Whenua, AgResearch, B+LNZ and LIC has identified a new fungal species called Pseudopithomyces toxicarius as the primary producer of sporidesmin, the toxin responsible for FE. This discovery strengthens how spore risk is assessed and lays the foundation for more accurate diagnostic tools and better disease management across farm systems.

2. Parasite management

Internal parasites and rising drench resistance are serious threats to livestock production and animal welfare. B+LNZ’s investment in research and extension will help farmers improve control strategies and adopt best practice. 

• Livestock Parasite Management Focus Groups
  Farmer-led groups in seven regions are building knowledge, confidence and community around parasite management. The model builds on a successful pilot in the Wairarapa, with small groups meeting regularly to share experiences and apply strategies grounded in Wormwise principles. After the first year, farmers are already reporting feeling more informed about making decisions and more confident.
• Targeted selective treatment (TST)
  Nine farms with more than 5,000 lambs trialled the SmartWorm app to explore a more automated way of providing targeted selective treatment (TST). Compared to blanket drenching, the TST group reduced drench use by nearly half with only minor differences in growth. Farmers saw direct economic savings and better parasite control.  The app identified which animals were drenched at each event, allowing that data to inform the selection of replacement animals with lower drench requirements. Its effectiveness was maximized when used in conjunction with faecal egg counts and as part of a broader integrated management strategy.

3. Improving soil resilience through Catch the Rain

Through the Catch the Rain project, B+LNZ is working with Quorum Sense and Manaaki Whenua to improve soil water infiltration and drought resilience. Over 40 farmers are trialling practical changes on their farms to reduce runoff and improve moisture retention. The Soilmentor app is helping farmers monitor progress and share insights. Early results show strong interest in managing compaction and enhancing pasture function, all driven by farmer-led ideas and local conditions.

Investing in tools such as nProve for beef

B+LNZ’s genetics tool nProve is now available for both sheep and beef farmers. The new nProve Beef platform gives farmers a simple way to select bulls that suit their breeding goals, supported by New Zealand-designed indexes that assign economic value to key traits. Farmers can use filters to generate tailored lists of breeders offering bulls matched to their needs. This research-based tool is driven by the Informing New Zealand Beef programme and supports long-term herd performance and genetic progress.

Our strengthened focuses in extension 

Two new initiatives are underway that reflect how farmers learn best:

• B+LNZ Focus Groups bring small groups of farmers together to explore specific topics with input from peers and experts. These outcome-driven groups are active nationwide, with insights – like those from the parasite management group – shared via the B+LNZ news section.
• B+LNZ Hub Farms showcase real-time change on farm businesses, helping farmers understand regional challenges and apply learnings to their own operations. Hub Farms are currently active in the Western North Island, a Whenua Māori Hub Farm near Ruatōria, and Waikato, each hosting field days to share progress. Keep an eye on the B+LNZ events calendar for upcoming opportunities to visit these farms.

Advocating on behalf of our farmers

Our focus remains on strongly representing the farmer voice in our advocacy. 

In June, we emailed farmers with updates on our environmental policy advocacy. Since then:

• We continue to push for stronger action to address wholesale land-use change for carbon forestry. More than 400 farmers used our prewritten submission template to Parliament’s Environment Committee, calling for the exemptions criteria on sales after limits were announced to be tightened and for the moratorium on whole-farm sales to be extended to all land use classes. We’ll keep farmers updated on what happens next – in the meantime, you can continue to highlight this issue by sharing social media videos like this.
• We’ve provided a submission on the Government’s RMA national direction proposals. More info and a link to the submission here. 

Other recent advocacy focuses include:

• We provided a submission on proposed updates to the Code of Welfare: Sheep and Beef Cattle. B+LNZ believes that while many of the proposals appear balanced, there are aspects that need to be changed. We sought farmer input to better understand and address these concerns. You can access B+LNZ’s submission on our website here.
• We are continuing to press for the methane targets to be amended based on no additional warming, and for changes to the gene technology bill.  

Strengthening trade and market access 

Strong trade relationships are critical to farm profitability, and B+LNZ continues to advocate for the removal of barriers and better market access to unlock growth. 

• At the recent Red Meat Sector Conference, B+LNZ and MIA launched the biennial Barriers to International Trade report and a joint value-growth strategy, The Pathway to Growing Value. These reports highlight how better trade policy could boost returns to farmers. Rising costs from overseas tariffs are a growing concern. In particular, tariffs in the US could increase to $367 million unless action is taken to improve agreements. The full media release and reports are available to read here.
• We continue to work closely with MIA on the China safeguard action against all beef imports.
• Maintaining lamb access into the US is also a priority, in light of action by R-Calf. 

Supporting workforce development

We continue to invest in development and growth opportunities for the sheep and beef workforce. Recent developments include:

• We ran webinars on ways to grow your people. This four-part series was aimed at helping farmers build stronger, more capable teams through effective training and communication. See our e-dairy story about this.  
• B+LNZ-backed Kellogg scholars Richard Cameron and Natasha Cave are the inaugural recipients of the 2025 B+LNZ Leadership Advancement Scholarships with Richard recently completing his programme and Natasha just beginning hers.

Thanks for reading

There’s lots of other work underway so keep an eye on e-diaries for updates. You can also read more in the Red Meat Report (PDF, 2.3 MB).

If you have any questions, please get in touch. 

We’ll aim to send you another quarterly update in October and will keep you updated on issues as necessary in the meantime.