Latest News

Keep up to speed with our latest news and events

For media enquiries phone 027 487 9656 or email communications@ballance.co.nz

Latest News

10 December 2018

Locating lost shareholders

Our Share Register includes a number of shareholders who we’ve been unable to contact, and we’d like to reunite as many of these people with their shares as possible. We have published a full list of shareholders we’ve lost contact with here, if you know anyone on this list please get in touch with our Shares team.

26 October 2018

SpreadSmart bringing you the technology to revolutionise topdressing

Using SpreadSmart technology, Waituhi Farms has improved the effectiveness of spreading fertiliser on the property as well as significantly reducing costs …..

20 September 2018

Bring forward maintenance P and S to Spring

This can help give your clover a boost. Clover is well-known for its ability to fix nitrogen, but is also a valuable feed thanks to its high protein levels and accessible carbohydrates. Clover is palatable and easily digested and can help boost liveweight gains.

26 July 2018

Ballance FY18 result up 25% to $71m

New Zealand’s leading farm nutrient supplier, Ballance Agri-Nutrients, today announced a 25% lift in the Co-operative’s gross trading result to $71.3 million – reflecting current strength across much of the rural sector.

26 May 2018

The bigger picture of winter feed planning

When talking about management of winter feed it’s really important to look at the bigger picture. It’s crucial to have knowledge of your feed position with regard to pasture covers and stock condition in autumn.

10 May 2018

Ballance welcomes resolution of cargo dispute

Ballance Agri-Nutrients’ has welcomed the release of a phosphate rock shipment from Port Elizabeth in South Africa – ending more than a year of uncertainty for the Co-operative’s supplier, ship charterer, insurers and other parties caught up in a legal claim over ownership of the cargo.

08 May 2018

Homegrown MyBallance takes global innovation award

New Zealand farmers have been quick to take to their keyboards and touchscreens to order and manage their nutrients online with the new MyBallance digital platform.

15 April 2018

Kiwi product keeps pasture growth consistent

Listen to Rural Exchange speak to the Innovation Leader for Ballance, Jamie Blennerhassett, about their exciting product PhaSedN.

12 April 2018

Digital core to future of New Zealand farming

Ballance Agri-Nutrients’ today announced changes to its lead team that reinforce digitisation as core to the Co-operative and the future competitiveness of New Zealand farming. Chief Executive, Mark Wynne, says the creation of a new Chief Digital Officer role reflects a strategy to become a truly customer-centric organisation, with digital at the heart.

13 March 2018

Can a conventional farm win a Ballance Farm Environment Award?

Warwick Catto, science strategy manager for Ballance Agri-Nutrients shares some key elements that the BFEA are looking for - and hints that conventional farms can absolutely win.

26 February 2018

The Five Factors of Nitrogen Loss

Take a listen to Environmental Management Specialist - Ian Power as he discusses Minimising Nitrogen Leaching.

24 February 2018

The micronutrient that packs a punch in production

One little nutrient has the biggest impact on production and in some situations can be as critical as phosphorus, potassium or sulphur. Molybdenum is micronutrient and needed in the lowest quantities of all the micronutrients.

15 February 2018

Molybdenum gets farm on a roll

Steve and Esther Miller saw huge potential in the rolling to steep land of the Otago sheep and beef property the family trust bought four years ago and with the help of a bit of fertiliser – including the micronutrient molybdenum (moly) – they have achieved incredible results.

01 December 2017

Cropping Season Success

It’s a busy time of the year for crops and there is lots to manage from weed and pest control to fertiliser applications to maximise yields.

Listen in as experts Jamie Blennerhassett from Ballance and Andrew Miller from Farmlands discuss weed management, and some specific fertiliser advice for chicory, an increasingly popular crop.

27 November 2017

Jason Minkhorst to join Ballance Agri-Nutrients

Senior Fonterra executive, Jason Minkhorst, has been confirmed as General Manager Sales for Ballance Agri-Nutrients, joining the farmer-owned Co-operative in early March 2018.

Jason is currently Director Farm Source Stores of Fonterra’s rural retail business, Farm Source, and has extensive commercial experience from more than 15 years in senior executive and governance roles in the dairy sector.

17 November 2017

Selenium for animal health, growth and productivity

Small inputs can make a big difference to your farm results.

Selenium (Se) is a micronutrient that is essential for animals. In many areas of New Zealand, improving selenium levels can improve stock fertility and growth rates. In a dairy context it can optimise milk production.

Learn More

14 November 2017

The Benefits of Potassium in Fertiliser for Pasture Growth

Potassium is one of the four major macronutrients required for plant growth but it is regularly the first nutrient that will be dropped out of fertiliser recommendations when times are tough.

Jamie Blennerhassett, the Innovation Leader at Ballance Agri-Nutrients discusses with Rural Exchange, why this is a poor decision.

Learn More

22 September 2017

Millionth Tonne Milestone

New Zealand farmers’ use of the smart nitrogen product, SUSTAIN®, has topped 1 million tonnes since its launch – reflecting evolving practice and a growing preference for targeted nutrient solutions that are more effective, efficient and have better environmental performance.

27 July 2017

Ballance delivers strong FY2017 result and returns $54m to farmers

The gross trading result for the year ended 31 May 2017 was up $22 million to $56.8 million. An average Ballance shareholder will receive a distribution of $4,500 with payments from 28 July.

The mid-winter boost in cash flow will average up to $8,000 for farmers using a high-value product mix, with individual payments of more than $100,000 to the largest farming interests.

12 April 2017

Flood recovery support package from Ballance

Ballance Agri-Nutrients has today confirmed a support package for local farmers and the community, to help in the recovery from recent flooding around Edgecumbe and other areas of the Eastern Region affected by flooding.

21 March 2017

Ballance encourages practical approach for Healthy Rivers Plan

Ballance Agri-Nutrients is encouraging a focus on the potential impacts for the regional farming community as a result of the proposed Healthy Rivers/Wai Ora: Proposed Waikato Regional Plan Change.

21 February 2017

Ballance scholarships set to secure a bright future

In total we have awarded a total of $54,000 in tertiary study scholarships to six talented students who are committed to the future success of our primary industries sector.

24 November 2016

Creating safer skies and better sustainability for aerial topdressing

An award winning development in aerial topdressing is making it safer for pilots to navigate one of the world’s most dangerous professions while improving on-farm sustainability.

21 November 2016

Warm, wet and worrying for facial eczema

Above average temperatures and rainfall are ideal conditions for the fungus which causes facial eczema to thrive. Spore production occurs when soil temperatures exceed 12 degrees for three consecutive nights and soil moisture is favourable or air conditions are humid.

16 November 2016

Canterbury Earthquake Update

All Ballance Service Centres and Consignment Stores are operational following Monday’s earthquake. Our people are accounted for and safe. We’re thinking of those who have been affected by the earthquake.

26 October 2016

Uncertain future for RPR

Political, economic and social instability in South America and North Africa is making it increasingly difficult for New Zealand farmers to get their hands on in-spec reactive phosphate rock (RPR).

17 October 2016

Fast track fertiliser from new Ballance Huntly store

Safety, efficiency and sustainability are the key features of our new Huntly Service Centre, which promises to deliver faster service, better access and close-to-home convenience for local customers.

12 October 2016

Making a career in New Zealand's economic backbone

On any given day you’ll find Scott Cameron advising his clients on matters of finance, sustainability, human resources, pasture management and more, with no two workdays being the same.

28 September 2016

Winning customer service acknowledged

Our Ballance contact centre has been acknowledged for their winning customer service, receiving an award for the best contact centre in the Retail Support Service industry.

19 September 2016

Stopping the rain from washing away dairy farmers’ profits

Dairy farmers who have been experiencing wet weather could be facing unexpected soil nutrient loss due to a common misconception about how urea fertiliser behaves when soils are moist from previous rainfall events.

15 September 2016

From fert to food and back again

Jamie Blennerhassett has returned to his scientific roots, bringing with him commercial acumen honed at the helm of Nosh, to lead our innovation team at Ballance.

08 September 2016

Soil scholar searching for hill country answers

An innate curiosity for ‘why things happen’ made Lincoln University PhD candidate Amy Whitley a natural fit for scientific research. Now she’s using that curiosity to improve New Zealand’s soils and raise the productivity of low fertility land in hill and high country areas.

05 September 2016

Ballance scholarships open door to bright futures in agribusiness

The Ballance scholarship programme is opening the door to our country’s best and brightest, offering a financial boost to students who want to help shape the future of one of New Zealand’s most important and profitable sectors.

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