New pasture guide launched to support farmers in a changing climate
A new publication has been launched that offers a comprehensive and up-to-date resource on commercially available grazing pasture species in New Zealand.
Stand up and be counted millennials: that was the message from the winner of Massey University’s Agricultural Alumni Award, Bridget Hawkins, founder and chief executive of the agritech company Regen.
Hawkins was raised on a sheep and beef farm near Reporoa and in 1989 completed a masters degree in agricultural science at Massey.
She told students and graduates at the annual Massey Agricultural Awards dinner that while some people see the attitudes of millennials as negative, she takes quite the opposite view and reckons the primary sector needs their skills and new ways of thinking.
Hawkins says the world is in a state of VUCA (volatile, uncertain, complex and ambiguous) and young people will need their skills to operate successfully in this environment.
“When you start work, be respectful; don’t walk in saying you know everything.
“But don’t be afraid to speak up because you are born in a world where technology is your normal – unlike me.
“You interact differently with it because it has always been part of your life and this is the way things need to be done now.
“There is a need for action in the primary sector and it is not at a stage where we can have incremental change. It needs much broader thinking and people in the sector have to be ready to experiment and drive stuff. It’s an exciting time to enter the primary sector.”
Hawkins says the sector needs the perspective of youth and young people should not be afraid to step up and help shape the future.
Newly elected Federated Farmers meat and wool group chair Richard Dawkins says he will continue the great work done his predecessor Toby Williams.
Hosted by ginger dynamo Te Radar, the Fieldays Innovation Award Winners Event put the spotlight on the agricultural industry's most promising ideas.
According to DairyNZ's latest Econ Tracker update, there has been a rise in the forecast breakeven milk price for the 2025/26 season.
Despite the rain and a liberal coating of mud, engines roared, and the 50th Fieldays Tractor Pull Competition drew crowds of spectators across the four days of the annual event.
Nationwide rural wellbeing programme, Farmstrong recently celebrated its tenth birthday at Fieldays with an event attended by ambassador Sam Whitelock, Farmers Mutual Group (FMG), Farmstrong partners, and government Ministers.
Six industry organisations, including DairyNZ and the Dairy Companies Association (DCANZ) have signed an agreement with the Ministry for Primary Industries (MPI) to prepare the country for a potential foot and mouth outbreak.
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