Zespri Breaks Records with $5.9 Billion in Global Kiwifruit Sales
Zespri's sales of kiwifruit for the 2025 season have broken all past records.
Rural trader Farmlands has launched an exclusive new casual clothing range across its 42 stores nationwide and online.
Exclusive to Farmlands, the ‘1972 by Barkers’ represents the co-op’s most versatile choice for rural people, it says.
The co-op reports that in the first week, sales have been strong with almost 1000 pieces sold. The iconic Barkers trackpants is leading the top-sellers.
Farmlands chief executive Tanya Houghton says Farmlands stores are in parts of rural New Zealand that a fashion brand like Barkers normally can’t be.
“We’ve created a range of high-quality clothing that’ll work as hard as our farmers and growers. It’ll last through tough conditions on-farm and also look good down at the local pub or restaurant.”
The range has been named ‘1972’ as a celebration of Barkers’ 50-year history of creating quality menswear. Farmlands says the 1972 collection is another way it’s delivering on its mission to bring more value to farmers, joining Farmlands’ stable of exclusive products and brands that now extends across agrichemicals, animal feed, workwear and rural supplies.
Barkers chief executive Glenn Cracknell is excited about the collaboration. “It really is the perfect partnership with a highly-regarded New Zealand rural brand.”
The first winter collection, featuring merino knitwear, outerwear and classic shirts, is now available from select Farmlands stores and online.
New Zealand dairy farmers are set to be the first in the world to receive access to a new digital physical milk pricing tool that enables them to fix the price for their physical milk.
State farmer Pāmu is opening its farm gates this summer in an effort to give the rural sector the opportunity to see how large-scale, multi-system farming is delivering productivity and profitability across New Zealand.
A five-year study has found that the cost of reducing emissions without technology may be significant and unsustainable for Northland dairy farmers.
DairyNZ says Waikato farmers need certainty on Plan Change 1, but they say that certainty must be matched with practical, workable rules and a clear transition that doesn't get ahead of the new resource management system currently under review.
While the Government has moved quickly to make commercial hauliers' lot easier during the current fuel crisis, they appear to be stuck in the creep box when it comes to the agricultural industry.
Waikato farmers have been told that the Government’s new planning system legislation and the region’s Plan Change 1 (PC1) “won’t mesh together very well”.

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