One and One Don't Make Three
OPINION: Since when did one and one make three? Who didn't smell an elephant-sized rat when our leaders decided to give $60 million to save the cement factory in Northland?
The man who led the Fifty Shades of Green campaign is now going to be advocating for the one shade of blue – the National Party.
Mike Butterick, a Wairarapa sheep and beef farmer and Feds Meat and Fibre chair in the region, has been selected as the National candidate for the region. He beat off two other nominees including Mark Bridges, the brother of former leader Simon Bridges.
Butterick has been a vocal critic of plans to convert livestock farms to forestry and was one of the leaders of a protest at parliament on this subject last year. He replaces Alastair Scott who has held the seat since 2014 and is standing down at the election.
He began his career shepherding in Canterbury before moving to the Wairarapa in 1990 and bought a farm in 1995, along with his wife Rachel.
“Wairarapa, alongside the rest of the country, is heading into some very uncertain times and it needs a strong National Government to help guide us out of this economic crisis.”
Butterick says he’s looking forward to campaigning and earning Wairarapa’s trust to win support and join the National Party team.
For Taupiri dairy farmers Logan and Sian Dawson, their involvement in the NZ Dairy Industry Awards has been a key catalyst in the growth of their business - the experience helping shape how they approach the farm ownership pathway they are pursuing today.
West Otago dairy farmer Luke Kane has been awarded the 2026 Rabobank Dr John Morris Business Development Prize.
OPINION: As the general election approaches, political parties are churning out policies in the hope of attracting more votes.
An LIC bull, Tronnoco AR Sadio-ET S3F, bred by Tony and Keri O'Connor of Tronnoco Farming Co Ltd near Timaru, has won the 2026 Mahoe Trophy.
With forecasters advising El Niño conditions will develop through winter and strengthen into spring and summer, Ballance Agri-Nutrients is encouraging farmers and growers to think ahead about nutrient planning and be prepared to work around challenging weather conditions.
A Palmerston North shearer has been sentenced to six months' community detention and 12 months' supervision after being found to have physically abused three lambs while shearing them.