Wairoa Mayor: Road upgrades between Napier and Wairoa will boost safety and accessibility
The road between Napier and Wairoa is on the mend.
Major players in the primary sector are mobilising staff ahead of NIWA's predictions that regions severely damaged by Cyclone Gabrielle are about to be hit by potentially one of the country's worst droughts.
NIWA's principal scientist, forecasting and media, Chris Brandolino told Rural News that weather patterns that are emerging will likely cause the early arrival of El Nino. He says NIWA is already starting to see dryness develop in parts of the North Island - including Hawke's Bay and Tairāwhiti.
Brandolino says this could see periods when for two or three days, temperatures will soar into the upper 20 degrees, then suddenly cool down again then the process starts all over again. He says this is unusual because NZ is still in the astronomical winter.
"Normally the dryness begins in November, but this year it is likely to kick in early - meaning October."
To that end, NIWA and MPI have worked together to produce a 'drought prediction tool' which is on the NIWA website. Brandolino emphasises that this tool is not a weather forecaster, but rather it predicts the weather themes and level of dryness 35 days ahead and is updated daily.
On the eve of his departure from Federated Farmers board, Richard McIntyre is thanking farmers for their support and words of encouragement during his stint as a farmer advocate.
A project reducing strains and sprains on farm has won the Innovation category in the New Zealand Workplace Health and Safety Awards 2025.
Beef + Lamb New Zealand (B+LNZ), in partnership with the Ministry for Primary Industries (MPI) and other sector organisations, has launched a national survey to understand better the impact of facial eczema (FE) on farmers.
One of New Zealand's latest and largest agrivoltaics farm Te Herenga o Te Rā is delivering clean renewable energy while preserving the land's agricultural value for sheep grazing under the modules.
Global food company Nestle’s chair Paul Bulcke will step down at its next annual meeting in April 2026.
Brendan Attrill of Caiseal Trust in Taranaki has been announced as the 2025 National Ambassador for Sustainable Farming and Growing and recipient of the Gordon Stephenson Trophy at the National Sustainability Showcase at in Wellington this evening.