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Canterbury and Otago catchment groups will receive $6 million in government funding.
The Government is giving $6 million to farmer-led catchment groups in Canterbury and Otago to improve water health.
Agriculture Minister Damien O’Connor says the grants will help farmers improve the health of rivers, wetlands, and habitat biodiversity as well as improving long-term land management practices.
Four farmer-led catchment group Jobs for Nature projects have between allocated between $176,000 and $2.3 million over the next three years to fund environmental improvement work across dozens of sites in their regions. These projects will also employ between 15 and 20 people as well as specialist contractors over that period.
O’Connor says most of the initiatives are being led by established catchment groups with hundreds of farmer members. The work will involve fencing and planting around water bodies, clearing of unsuitable trees and pest control. Projects also include building a wetland board walk, and structures to protect endangered fish from predator species.
“These projects, like the WAI Wānaka project I recently announced, will build on the work farmers are already doing to nurture their environment, as well as providing crucial jobs in areas affected by COVID-19,” O’Connor said.
A further $2.9 million investment will help around 300 Hurunui farmers work towards improving the health of their land and water through applying farm environment planning and sustainable land management practices.
The Future Hurunui project will provide catchment support to the Hurunui District Landcare Group for its members to use towards developing their farm environment plans.
The funding will enable the group to partner with trusted rural professionals to provide advice and support to their catchment members. The group will employ three people to do this work.
“Hurunui farmers have had a particularly tough few years, with the 2016 Kaikoura earthquake causing thousands of landslides and significant damage to large areas of land,” O’Connor said.
Central Otago District Council (CODC) has voted against a plan to spread treated sewage sludge from Cromwell and Alexandra on farmland near Lauder, a decision Federated Farmers says reflects strong opposition from rural residents.
Federated Farmers has called on Central Otago District Council (CODC) to drop or vote down a plan to truck sludge from Alexandra and Cromwell to farmland near Lauder, warning it would compound an "outrageous" situation created by a separate council's decision weeks earlier.
Farmers across parts of Southland and South Otago are continuing to deal with difficult conditions after a prolonged run of wet weather, with pressure building around feed supply, stock management, pasture damage, farm infrastructure and everyday workloads.
Mid Canterbury Federated Farmers arable chair, Bevan Lill, said Beef + Lamb NZ data indicated that for the last six years, the average arable return on investment was about 0.8% while inflation ran about 4% - so the average arable farm was going backwards at about 3% a year.
A warning for New Zealand seed and grain companies – be prepared for an exodus of farmers from the arable sector.
When Northland leather worker Vernon Suckling started making horse saddles 50 years ago, quad bikes and side-by-side vehicles were unheard of.
Alliance Group has confirmed that eligible farmer-shareholders who supply and continue to back the business will receive up to $20 million later this year, following the strategic investment partnership with Dawn Meats.
With a general election under five weeks away, Rural News is asking major political parties about their policies and positions on key issues facing the primary sector. We will run their responses to each question over the next four weeks. The ACT Party and the Greens didn't respond in time.
The red meat sector is in great heart.
Dr Scott Champion, Foundation for Arable Research chief executive, says that everyone in the supply chain had a role to play in driving the sector's long-term success.
Entries opened on Monday, 5 October 2026 for the 2027 New Zealand Dairy Industry Awards (NZDIA), which organisers describe as the nation's biggest celebration of excellence in the dairy sector.
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