By Robyn Joubert
Plastic bale netting may be a thing of the past, if an edible netting invented by New Zealand farmer Grant Lightfoot takes flight. Not only does Kiwi Econet lighten farmers’ environmental footprint, but it also improves agricultural efficiency and animal health.
Grant, a velveting deer farmer from Southland, developed the plant-based netting as a solution to plastic bale netting. Non-biodegradable and difficult to remove, plastic netting is often left in the environment and is known to cause animal fatalities when ingested.
Kiwi Econet, made predominantly from natural jute yarn (similar to flax fibre), is safe, digestible and even nutritious for animals.
“Kiwi Econet is amazing. For one, it is saving animals lives. Not just cattle – all animals. It is saving the environment because you can’t do anything with plastic netting. You can’t even recycle it. Kiwi Econet is a mind-blowing product,” he said.
Unlike plastic netting, Kiwi Econet is biodegradable and does not need to be removed from bales before feeding to livestock. This saves on labour by simplifying handling and disposal. Any discarded netting simply decomposes in-field, fulfilling the modern farmer’s needs for sustainability, efficiency and animal health.
“The best part of my product is that you don’t need to take it off. Farmers and contractors will love it because plastic net gets in their machinery and the bearings and it is so bad.”
The product has undergone third-party testing, with Eurofins Food Analytics NZ testing milk samples from cows fed the wrap. No heavy metals were found, and the netting enriched animal diets with essential nutrients.
Grant has also run a trial to see how long the netting lasts in an animal’s gut. “I fed it to a cow here and made it eat one whole bale for about two or three weeks. I put that cow back in the paddock for a week to ten days and then I processed it and cut the gut bag. There was no trace of the netting,” he said.
While Kiwi Econet works efficiently on baleage, Grant is not yet 100% happy with the product on hay and straw bales, as they expand after wrapping.
“But I can 100% guarantee it works on baleage. Here in New Zealand, baleage is green grass, with an inner net around it to hold the bale structure together, and an outer plastic film that wraps around the bale 20 or 30 times. We still use plastic wrap on the outside but I have solved the plastic netting problem on the inside,” he explains.
Manufacturing now takes place in India, based on a prototype handmade by Grant and his partner. “We knitted 50m and that is how we started. It was pretty painful,” he recalls.
Kiwi Econet is produced in 525m or 775m rolls that slot directly into any balers. It costs just under NZ$4 to wrap one bale, compared to about NZ$2.40 for plastic, but the higher cost is offset by reduced labour and disposal expenses and environmental benefits.
Despite the price difference, demand is high and news is spreading like wildfire.
“Radio New Zealand interviewed me and within 48 hours, the story had over 2.3m viewings. I have about 1.1 million followers on social media,” he said.
Grant received his first shipment of Kiwi Econet in Christchurch in February, with the second shipment on the water. He is currently introducing his product to New Zealand and will then focus on opening markets in Australia, the United States, Europe and Asia.
“The netting has just gone out to farmers in New Zealand in the last few days. Our season ends in three weeks and then we are hoping to hit the rest of the world as their seasons open.”
In time, Grant plans to bring Kiwi Econet to South Africa and Africa.
“Just not yet. For now, we are focusing on other markets.”
For more information, contact Grant Lightfoot at +64 27 451 1144, email grant@kiwieconet.nz, or visit kiwieconet.nz.
