Ahuwhenua Trophy 2025: Northland winners take top Māori sheep & beef awards
Northlanders scooped the pool at this year's prestigious Ahuwhenua Trophy Awards - winning both the main competition and the young Maori farmer award.
Northland College will open its farm gates tomorrow to the public to show how the school is using the farm to prepare its students for careers in agriculture.
The farm held its first open day in May 2014, under the umbrella of a new Five Year Strategic Plan, and on the back of the collaboration between Northland College and Lincoln University. This year the farm and the school will share their progress to-date, the on-farm successes, and what the future holds.
Much has happened since the 2014 open day. Loretta Smyth, the then Farm Manager has become the school's Farm Tutor. She picked up the Webb Ross McNab Kilpatrick Leadership Award in the Farm Manager of the Year Merit Awards at the New Zealand Dairy Industry Awards for Northland. In addition, the Northland College students won the national award for their entry in the Lion Foundation Young Enterprise Scheme.
Northland College now has 50 senior students enrolled in agriculture classes in Year 11 to 13, up from 37 in 2014. There are also 19 students enrolled in Business Studies – enabling the school to run the class for the first time.
On-farm, despite the difficult season, it has been possible to both control costs and increase production.
Gates open at 10.00am.
Paynes Titus Excelsior ET, an LIC bull bred by Brad Payne and Claire Brodie in the Waikato, has won the JT Thwaites Sire of the Season 2026 Award.
South Canterbury farmer Colin Hurst has been elected as the new president of Federated Farmers.
Dairy continues to be the mainstay of the country's primary export earnings.
China remains New Zealand’s biggest market, taking $23 billion of our exports, but it’s no longer a commodity story, says Prime Minister Christopher Luxon.
For Jane Smith, becoming a Ravensdown director has been a way she can actively contribute to something quite personal to her - protecting and strengthening a co-operative she deeply believes in.
Lactalis New Zealand has opened a new distribution centre in Christchurch, marking a significant investment in the company's South Island supply chain capability.

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