Your Co-operative Update
18 March 2026
Dear Valued Shareholder,
Welcome to the first co-operative update for 2026.
This update begins with a video message from us; Duncan Coull as your Board chair and Kelvin Wickham, chief executive.
This video is slightly longer than our normal updates as there is a lot to cover in light of the dynamic situation around the conflict in the Middle East. In the video we also talk to some of what was shared at the Ballance Roadshows which wrapped up with the final one in the Waikato this week.
Ballance Roadshow and strategy update
It was great to be able to get out around the country to connect with you at the roadshow. Feedback tells us shareholders enjoyed the chance to hear directly from us about where Ballance is at, where we want to be, and how we’re going to get there.
At the roadshow, we shared our strategy to ensure Ballance remains a strong and future fit co-operative here to serve our shareholders for another 80 years.
The strategy is focused on three key areas:
1. Supplying nutrients reliably:
- Strengthening our global sourcing to ensure better pricing and supply security
- Produce fertiliser and tailored solutions locally to better meet New Zealand’s needs
- Supply fertiliser through an efficient and convenient distribution network.
2. Boosting farm performance:
- Combine tailored advice and proactive service to help you get more from less
- Make it easier to plan, order, and manage fertiliser digitally
- Offer tools that give you more control and confidence in budgeting.
3. Driving farming forward:
- Advocate for the future of productive and sustainable farming in New Zealand
- Explore future nutrient ideas and developments to make fertiliser work better
- Champion and implement proven solutions that improve nutrient use and environmental impact for New Zealand farms.
The plan is clear and focused on adapting to your needs into the future, as well as staying in tune with the wider sector.
To measure its success, at the roadshows we introduced a scorecard which holds us to account on three key outcomes: Strong returns, a stable balance sheet and delivering for you.
We held a webinar sharing the same updates from the roadshow for those who couldn’t make it to an in-person event, or who prefer an online format.
For more detail on the strategy and the scorecard, you can watch the recording here.
Gas contract update
We’ve been able to secure a short-term gas supply agreement through to the end of June 2026 for our Kapuni gas-to-urea plant.
We continue to actively work the gas market and through ongoing engagement across the sector, we're becoming more assured about the likelihood of securing longer term supply.
Our priority remains very focused on maintaining locally manufactured nutrients as part of the nutrient supply mix and preserving future options. The current situation in the Middle East shines the spotlight on the need for local resilience more than ever.
We have also been working closely with government and officials to keep them updated on our supply situation for fertiliser generally.
Lost contact
Our share register includes a number of shareholders we’ve been unable to contact, and we’d like to reunite as many of these people with their shares as possible.
There’s a full list of shareholders we’re trying to track down on our website. If you know anyone on this list, please call our Shares team on 0800 267 266 or email shares@ballance.co.nz.
Nitrogen Reporting webinar
Join us for a webinar we’re running with Dairy Women’s Network on 25 March, getting ready for nitrogen reporting.
This will be a practical session run by one of our MyBallance experts, where you’ll learn how to easily submit your nitrogen report in MyBallance, set your data up successfully for the new season, and ask any questions in real time.
And finally, a big congratulations to all the Ballance Farm Environment Awards regional finalists and winners, the Ahuwuenua Trophy finalists and B+LNZ Awards finalists as well.
There continues to be plenty of great things happening out there in our industry, and we love to see those people being recognised and celebrated, and the clever practices and innovations unearthed by these awards.
You can read more about some more of the good things happening in the latest GROW magazine.
Please feel free to reach out to either of us directly anytime, via email or phone, with any questions or feedback. All the best for a strong autumn despite the turbulent times.
Warm regards,
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