Blueberries Could Be NZ's Next $150m Horticultural Export
Blueberries have the potential to become a major horticultural export, earning up to $150 million within the next three to five years.
Trainees in the horticulture industry studying towards a certificate or diploma can now apply for Horticulture New Zealand's (HortNZ) 2026 Industry Training Scholarships programme.
Twenty-five scholarships worth $600 each are available.
The scholarships are part of HortNZ's annual programme of scholarships for New Zealand students with a special interest in the commercial fruit and vegetable production sector.
The scholarship is applied for at the beginning of the academic year and awarded pre-Christmas for keeping up with work and study throughout the year.
HortNZ chief executive, Kate Scott says the organisation is focused on supporting the next generation of achievers undertaking industry training or education with a vocational provider.
“Horticulture offers so many opportunities for people with a very wide range of interests and abilities," Scott says.
“That includes being able to earn while you learn, working with experienced mentors in interesting roles in orchards, greenhouses or field crops, or throughout the horticulture supply chain, while pursuing a direct pathway to gaining NZQA recognised qualifications.”
Applicants for the Industry Training Scholarships must be active in the horticulture industry and be studying towards a certificate or diploma.
Applications close Sunday, 29 March.
As the cost-of-living crisis continues to put pressure on household grocery budgets, new figures show pork remains one of the most affordable fresh meat options for New Zealand families.
OPINION: In politics, credibility is and should be big. It must surely rank higher than charisma, which is quite trite and superficial. Yet, voters nowadays are often wooed and influenced by how someone looks or talks at a superficial level. TV plays a huge role in this.
Farmers can spend less time on paperwork, thanks to a new data sharing agreement between DairyNZ’s DairyBase and LIC’s MINDA software.
Kaikōura families affected by July's severe storm have found a practical solution to a problem that's kept some children away from regular schooling for weeks: a washed-out section of Inland Kaikōura Road, which has stopped the local school bus from running its usual route.
Rural New Zealand is welcoming the Government’s recent package of rural healthcare initiatives.
Interest in agritech and production animal systems has prompted Massey University's School of Agriculture and the Environment to new majors to its popular animal science degree.

OPINION: The same mainstream media muppets that brought you Jacindamania in 2017 have been flat out pimping for the Opportunities…
OPINION: Your old mate reckons the atrocious way farmers in the UK are treated by their lords and masters in…