Corn makes Christmas hit
Gisborne's record hot dry summer weather has produced rewards for one of the country's largest commercial growers based in the region - Leaderbrand.
The humble broccoli, a NZ family favourite, is currently being thrown away in staggering amounts.
It appears that New Zealanders are mimicking the infamous stance of former US president George H W Bush, during his tenure as the 41st president.
Bush frequently mentioned his distaste for broccoli, famously saying: "I do not like broccoli. And I haven't liked it since I was a little kid. Now I'm president of the United States, I'm not gonna eat any more broccoli!"
Each year, more than 282 tonnes of broccoli stems are being added to this country's household landfill waste.
LeaderBrand's Richard Burke, a large grower of broccoli, says that this is a staggering amount of waste and a huge waste of money.
"It might come as a surprise, but broccoli stalks are edible and they taste great," he says. "A third of us (37%) are throwing them away! It's such a waste."
Food scraps make up almost half the weight of the average Auckland household's rubbish. Recently, new figures came out that indicate New Zealanders throw out more than $3 billion worth of food each year - more than $1,500 per household per year.
Burke says all the talk about the increase in the cost of living could be helped if people made a few simple changes. He suggests buying in-season produce or not throwing away edible parts of veggies, would see people get better value out of fresh produce.
"Eating every part of the vegetable that you've bought makes financial sense," he adds. "Why not try maximising every inch of this nutrition powerhouse to make meals go further. It tastes great, adds texture to your meal, plus, you'll also be helping the environment."
5 + A Day - a charitable trust committed to increasing the consumption of fresh fruit and vegetables for better health in all New Zealanders - trustee and principal scientist and team leader at Plant and Food Research, Dr Carolyn Lister says broccoli stems are just as important as the head, or floret of the plant.
"Broccoli stems and florets are an excellent source of nutrition, they're an important part of a healthy diet to support your wellbeing in the winter months," she says.
"The stems and the florets provide valuable nutrients such as vitamin C, which supports immunity, and folate which helps the body form red blood cells, plus they're a great source of dietary fibre which keeps you feeling full for longer."
After 20 years of milking cows, Northland farmer Greg Collins is ready to step into the governance side of dairy.
For some Canterbury teenagers, their career is being shaped by hands-on experience in a sector they are passionate about - dairy farming.
Dairy farmers will be paying a new levy rate of 4.5c/kgMS - an extra 0.9c/kgMS - to industry-good body DairyNZ from June 1 this year.
The 'atmospheric river' of rain that swept down the country last week almost completely avoided one of the worst drought-affected regions in the country – coastal Taranaki.
Much-needed rain finally arrived in Northland, giving many farmers breathing space to get themselves back on track for next season.
Despite the turmoil in global markets, Fonterra is continuing with a dual track process to divest its multi-billion dollars consumer businesses.
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