News and stories

New Zealand has no shortage of clever agritech businesses looking to tackle challenges.

At a glance By providing real-time fermentation analysis technology to the wine industry, Winely is helping winemakers make more informed decisions and solving a long-standing industry problem in the meantime.

At a glance Despite early challenges brought about by the pandemic, Bluelab saw a huge uplift in orders, with their pre-COVID digital transformation enabling them to take advantage in the surge of direct to consumer activity.

At a glance Biotelliga is developing biologically based technologies - that work consistently - to help growers protect their crops from pests and disease, reducing the reliance on synthetic chemicals.

But while the complexity of accessing such incentives means carbon markets have so far been dominated by exotic forests and large forestry players, a Nelson AI startup wants to encourage native reforestation – and help the little guys get in on the action, too.

At a glance Agritech innovator Halter develops ‘smart collars’ for cows to make dairy farming simpler and more sustainable.

At a glance Hot Lime Labs came about when Callaghan Innovation scientist Dr Vlatko Materic realised that greenhouse operators were crying out for a source of clean carbon dioxide.

At a glance Agritech business Donaghys creates world-first combination spot-on treatment for sheep, helping make farmers’ lives easier and reducing animal handling and stress.

At a glance Orchard management software company Hectre has developed a range of tools that digitise previously paper-based activities within orchards, helping create efficiencies and reduce waste.

At a glance Agritech business Greentech Robotics has developed a fully autonomous robotic weeder.

At a glance Although major players in New Zealand’s meat industry, Silver Fern Farms knew their offal yield forecasting wasn’t as accurate as it could be, was time-consuming and eating into profits.

At a glance With global food demand set to increase significantly, BioLumic’s UV light technology enhances plant productivity, helping tackle some of the biggest challenges in agriculture around how to produce more food with less.