Charmian and Aaron recently attended the E Tipu 2025 – New Zealand Future Food and Fibre Summit, a key event bringing together industry leaders, policymakers, and innovators to explore the future of New Zealand’s food and fibre sectors.

The summit’s discussions strongly aligned with Cucumber’s current focus, especially around how we can support clients in the primary industries with practical, forward-thinking solutions.

Key Themes and Insights:

• Natural capital (e.g., land, water, ecosystems) should be central to business strategies — not just a side consideration.
  

• Data and signals from soil, air, and people must be turned into meaningful actions, not just insights.
  

• Collaboration across sectors and cultures (including Māori perspectives) will be essential in a tech-driven future.
  

• Complex challenges like climate change and economic disruption can also drive innovation — adversity can unite us.
  

• Sustainability must be a given. The next two decades will bring major shifts to how food systems operate.
  

• Innovation in farming could redefine what a farm looks like — today’s dairy farm could become tomorrow’s bio-refinery.
  

• We need to think long-term — valuing our resources not just for what they are today, but what they can become.
  

• Humility and learning will be key, especially as technology like AI helps us better understand plants, animals, and ecosystems.
  

• Future-ready farms must be digitally connected to harness these insights and adapt to a fast-changing world.
  

The summit reinforced that collaboration, innovation, and sustainability will drive the future of New Zealand’s food and fibre industries — and at Cucumber, we’re excited to help our clients lead this change.