December 2024

Another year winding up at New Zealand Cashmere with lots to celebrate and even more to look forward to in 2025.

It’s been brilliant to get the AgFirst project up off the ground over the past several months. Here in the South Island we are enjoying working alongside Graham Butcher from Rural Solutions Ltd for consultancy on the project and of course, our farmers Johnny and Jane Harrison in the foothills of mid-Canterbury. I look forward to sharing their story with the industry, in the New Year, and running the first of four open days in March.

We are also looking forward to launching the web app we have been developing for the better part of the year, which helps farmers and rural professionals quantify what impact cashmere goats can have in their business. This app will be on all of our event stands in the February/March events season, so please do come along to try this out.

Our Sustainable Food and Fibres Futures funding wraps up at the end of March 2025. This funding has been critical in building the foundation for New Zealand’s cashmere industry, it has allowed us to build a number of resources to aid farmers in their cashmere journey including the Farmer Handbook, Animal Health Guide and a Breeding Guide which will be released in the New Year. It’s also enabled us to build a world-class assurance programme, attend Field Days and run a National Roadshow promoting the industry, review all literature relating to cashmere production and explore gross margin calculators and other useful tools to aid farmers in their decision making.

In the South Island particularly, by and large we have had a hard year farming. Between drought, flooding, snowstorms, low market prices, inflation and general economic pressures – we haven’t had much of a break at any point. I appreciate each and every one of our growers who are supporting the New Zealand Cashmere industry, daring to be different and try something new in challenging times like these is no mean feat, and I thank you sincerely. The potential of the Cashmere industry in New Zealand is still not realised, it is high-value, sustainable, secure and by getting in at this early stage – you are setting yourselves up to be the leaders of this luxury industry.

Please take some time this “holiday” season, to take stock of where you are at, and connect with people important to you. This time of year is when most farm accidents happen; keep alert, hydrated (2 – 3 Litres per day) and most importantly, take your time, being late for a Christmas BBQ won’t be the end of the world but rolling the quad could be!

I head away on leave from Christmas Eve until the 7th January, my break will be filled with time on-farm, riding horses (including my freshly broken three-year old warmblood – my very exciting Olympic prospect!), walking the Greenstone-Caples track and wedding planning. I’ll be on leave from 31st January – 10th February to get married on our family farm.

Thank you all for your support in 2024, I look forward to catching up with you in the New Year.

Cheers,

Liv