Editorial: Agri's mojo is back
OPINION: Good times are coming back for the primary industries. From sentiment expressed at Fieldays to the latest rural confidence survey results, all indicate farmer confidence at a near-record high.
St Paul's Collegiate students received the Young Innovator of the Year Award, presented by Fieldays chief executive Peter Nation, for Crankholder – a trailer attachment that makes drilling post holes safer and more cost efficient.
Nation also on day two presented the Innovations Launch NZ Award to The Wrangler Ltd for their innovation PollenSmart – a machine designed to dispense pollen to increase yield, reduce costs, and optimise timing.
Fieldays visitors were inspired on the Village Green as they heard more about looking after their emotional wellbeing. Doug Avery, The Resilient Farmer, presented in Fieldays Knowledge Series, shared his valuable experience of resilience in industry. Eighteen years ag, Avery turned his life around after suffering from depression for five years. He now hopes sharing his experience will help to stop suicide rates in the agricultural industry from climbing.
This year's NZ Fencing Championships sees local legend Paul Van Beers gun for his 15th WIREMARK Golden Pliers title, before hanging up his tools for the last time. At 4pm today, a celebration will be held in the Village Green to honour Paul and his lifetime achievements in fencing.
Day two at the Kitchen Theatre in Kiwi's Best Kitchen delighted audiences with home cooked meals and helpful tips and tricks. New Zealand's first-ever MasterChef winner, Brett McGregor cooked up a storm at Fieldays and demonstrated his own unique travel inspired dishes.
The dry weather today helped this year's Tractor Pull get off to a roaring start, as the Rural Bachelors completed their latest challenge which put their driving skills to the test.
The new grandstand seating and Good George bar overlooking the site gave visitors a chance to take a break and catch some of the action.
"This year we are up on entry numbers. When we first used this track last year we thought there'd be no way we'd ever fill it up, and now we have no space left," says Andrew Reymer, Tractor Pull Team Leader.
Today sees the Schools' Tractor Pull final at 1pm as Matangi Primary School and Tamahere Model Country School go head to head in what's sure to be an exciting event. Also catch the NZ Young Farmers North Island Debate Final on the Village Green at 3pm for some thought-provoking discussion.
A brilliant result and great news for growers and regional economies. That's how horticulture sector leaders are describing the news that sector exports for the year ended June 30 will reach $8.4 billion - an increase of 19% on last year and is forecast to hit close to $10 billion in 2029.
Funding is proving crucial for predator control despite a broken model reliant on the goodwill of volunteers.
A major milestone on New Zealand's unique journey to eradicate Mycoplasma bovis could come before the end of this year.
We're working through it, and we'll get to it.
The debate around New Zealand's future in the Paris Agreement is heating up.
A technical lab manager for Apata, Phoebe Scherer, has won the Bay of Plenty 2025 Young Grower regional title.