Dear Valued Shareholder,
Welcome to the final co-operative update of 2025.
This update begins with a short video message from us; Duncan Coull as your Board chair and Kelvin Wickham, chief executive.
In the video, we talk to the official end of manufacturing at Mount Maunganui; the ramp up of production at the Awarua plant; some other developments in our distribution network and also share a brief update on gas supply for the Kapuni urea plant.
Firstly, it’s heartening to see higher confidence across the primary sector. Coupled with periods of settled weather, the network has been all hands on deck as we get tens of thousands of tonnes out the door and onto farm.
This has been a great challenge to have, and we must extend a big thank you to our hardworking distribution network and spreaders.
Mount Maunganui plant closed
Last week the Mount Maunganui superphosphate plant officially ceased operation.
While it’s been a tough time for our people, it was the right decision for the future of Ballance, for you as our shareholders, and the wider agriculture sector.
The decommissioning process has begun and we’re now safely de-energising and preparing the site to be used for storage and distribution, and at the same time, working to salvage some of our legacy assets and inventory to maximise best value of those.
The plant performed extremely well right until shut. We ran out all our raw materials as part of our wind down to closure; we maximised our storage volumes; filled all the acid tanks as well as almost every storage shed in the North Island.
And we were able to do that safely, which is a credit to the team undertaking this work.
As a result, we’re well stocked with product in the North Island and have bought in contingency phosphate to ensure plenty of supply through spring and into autumn.
Manufacture at Awarua
It’s been really exciting to see capacity, capability and production ramping up at our Awarua superphosphate plant in Invercargill.
We’ve had some early wins with a successful coastal transfer from Southland up into the North Island. We’re looking to replicate this which would mean we’re able to maximise utilisation of the Awarua plant.
We’re also currently looking at alternative forms of phosphate such as DSP to see if this can be manufactured at Awarua, as well as imported phosphate, so we can be flexible in our offering for you.
Kapuni gas update
We’ve been able to secure more short-term gas through to autumn. It’s a very complicated and ever-changing landscape, but we continue to work hard towards finding a longer-term supply solution.
SimplyFert
We’ve expanded the range and distribution network of SimplyFert, our ex-hub, lower priced fertiliser range, recently adding SustaiN to the 25 core Ballance nutrients already on offer.
SimplyFert product can now be collected directly from the following selected Ballance hubs:
- Foremans Road, Christchurch
- Kapuni, South Taranaki
- Mount Operations & Maru Street, Mount Maunganui
- Timaru
- Awarua, Invercargill
To find out if SimplyFert is a good fit for you, talk to your nutrient specialist, call us on 0800 999 035 or visit www.simplyfert.co.nz and watch the video here.
A milestone moment for Super Air
Super Air has achieved a fantastic performance milestone during a busy spring, recently ticking over a total of 1 million tonnes applied using SpreadSmart since its inception.
This has generated a bankable benefit to farmers of $119 million over the past eight years, simply by leveraging our SpreadSmart advantage to target the areas on farm that will give the best return on fertiliser application.
Rural Riders and Surfing for Farmers
As proud founding sponsors of both Surfing for Farmers and Rural Riders, it’s great to see the local meet-ups taking off around the country as the weather warms up.
Both these initiatives were established with the sole purpose of getting farmers and growers off the farm, and into some fun, healthy social activity. There is no cost to attend.
Check out the websites for more information and to find a group local to you: Surfing for Farmers and Rural Riders.
Ballance Roadshow
In the new year, we’re heading out to 11 locations around the country to share an update on our strategy refresh and what you can expect from that, the findings of our recent survey which 1200 of you took part in, as well as key activity happening at Ballance – and we’d love to hear from you too!
Keep an eye on your email inbox for an invite to register for an event near you.
Until then, please reach out to either of us directly anytime, via email or phone, with any questions or feedback. Have a safe and enjoyable Christmas with your loved ones.
Warm regards,
Duncan Coull
Chair
Duncan.Coull@xtra.co.nz
027 472 7110
Kelvin Wickham
Chief Executive
Kelvin.Wickham@ballance.co.nz
021 513 028