Youth take centre stage at East Coast Farming Expo 2026
There's a special sort of energy at the East Coast Farming Expo, especially when it comes to youth.
The 2023 East Coast Farming Expo, scheduled for next week in Wairoa, has been cancelled.
Devstation caused by Cyclone Gabrielle has cut off the northern Hawke’s Bay town, with regional and local roading damaged.
In an email to exhibitors, Expo event manager Sue Wilson says the Wairoa A&P Showgrounds has been dissemated with water and silt ripping through buildings leaving total distruction.
With some buildings and fences destroyed it will take months to restore the grounds.
Wilson says after three challenging years, her team were looking forward to delivering the event next week for farmers on the east coast.
“But it isn’t to be, and we need to concentrate on making sure our local community are okay.
“Right now our focus is on those who need support, with some team member’s homes and land being destroyed in Gabrielle’s path of destruction.
“Stakeholders and exhibitors are asked to be patient for the next week until communication is restored, when we will be in contact.”
Legal controls on the movement of fruits and vegetables are now in place in Auckland’s Mt Roskill suburb, says Biosecurity New Zealand Commissioner North Mike Inglis.
Arable growers worried that some weeds in their crops may have developed herbicide resistance can now get the suspected plants tested for free.
Fruit growers and exporters are worried following the discovery of a male Queensland fruit fly in Auckland this week.
Dairy prices have jumped in the overnight Global Dairy Trade (GDT) auction, breaking a five-month negative streak.
Alliance Group chief executive Willie Wiese is leaving the company after three years in the role.
A booklet produced in 2025 by the Rotoiti 15 trust, Department of Conservation and Scion – now part of the Bioeconomy Science Institute – aims to help people identify insect pests and diseases.

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