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The media response to sheep shearing's potential as a Commonwealth Games demonstration sport, if not the Olympics, has gone international.
"Shearing as a demonstration sport has gone viral," says Jeanette Maxwell, Federated Farmers Meat & Fibre chairperson, with the Australian, UK and US media picking it up.
"I've had interviews with BBC regional stations but am being interviewed by Skype for BBC One.
"I've also checked Google News and shearing sport has generated at least 262 news items. From ESPN and a Washington Post blog to Britain's Daily Telegraph, you can say it has grabbed imaginations the world over.
"Some of it may drip with sarcasm but it's giving us the chance to tell people overseas that sheep don't die for their wool. Unbelievable as it may sound to Kiwi ears, some people overseas believe wool is like fur.
"While wool is natural, renewable and completely sustainable, it needs more and perhaps sport provides that magic.
"Our shearing athletes, men and woman alike, are in peak physical condition. When people wear New Zealand wool it has come from the work of people like of Ivan Scott and Kerri-Jo Te Huia.
"We can also add Stacey Te Huia and Sam Welch. Yesterday, they broke a 16-year world record for two-stand nine-hour ewe-shearing.
"I'm under no illusion that this will take time but given the big eight sheep counties are China, Australia, India, Iran, Sudan, New Zealand, Nigeria and the United Kingdom, shearing is more global than many people think," Maxwell says.
A Palmerston North shearer has been sentenced to six months' community detention and 12 months' supervision after being found to have physically abused three lambs while shearing them.
Organisers are expecting another full field of 40 of the country’s top shearers for the popular Speed Shearing event at this year’s Southern Field Days at Waimumu.
On January 5th at Te Pa Station, the World Sheep Shearing Records saw a new nine-hour strong wool ewes shearing record set by Simon Goss.
The rise and rise of top-class female shearers is a growing phenomenon in NZ – especially during recent times.
Much like New Zealand contractors who need nothern hemisphere operators to help with the grass, maize and cereal harvests, the United Kingdom is in need of those with prowess on the handpiece to help take the fleeces off that country's 15 million sheep.
New Zealand's 2026-27 freshwater fishing season has opened, with anglers encouraged to head to rivers and lakes over the coming days as conditions look favourable across much of the country.
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.
Pāmu has released its FY26 Integrated Annual Report, reporting a Net Operating Profit of $113 million, more than double the $49 million recorded in FY25.
Meat Industry Association data, released alongside the Red Meat Sector conference in Wellington, shows export value climbing across the US, China, UK and Canada.
Applications are set to open for the 2027 Zanda McDonald Award, a trans-Tasman award recognised for identifying and fast-tracking talented young leaders in agriculture and agribusiness.
The Royal New Zealand College of General Practitioners (the College) and Hauora Taiwhenua Rural Health Network are calling for investment in a proposed new training pathway for rural GPs, warning that many rural practices are struggling to recruit while a large share of the existing workforce nears retirement.
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