Nichol is new PGW chair
A day after the ouster of PGG Wrightson’s chair and his deputy, the listed rural trader’s board has appointed John Nichol as the new independent chair.
PGG Wrightson (PGW) chief executive Stephen Guerin says that while there are positive signals within the market, there are also challenges.
Last month, the rural retailer released its half-year results, revealing that the company’s earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) rose by 13% and net profit after tax (NPAT) jumped up 25%.
The result improves upon the 2024 full-year result released in July which saw NPAT drop to $3.1 million and EBIDTA drop by 17%.
Guerin says that there have been some significant highs for the company in the past six months.
“For us, it’s playing out in a couple of ways,” he told Rural News. He says that in the past six months, PGW’s real estate arm has sold several farm properties valued at over $10 million.
This, Guerin says, shows that farmers are seeing different opportunities available to them. “We’re working our way through some changes in our livestock saleyard footprint. We’ve sold two saleyards in that regard so that’s contributed to our cash.”
Guerin says that the current higher commodity prices – like with the rising farmgate milk price – are improving optimism across the sector.
Dignitaries from all walks of life – the governor general, politicians past and present, Maoridom- including the Maori Queen, church leaders, the primary sector and family and friends packed Our Lady of Kapiti’s Catholic church in Paraparaumu on Thursday October 23 to pay tribute to former prime Minister, Jim Bolger who died last week.
Agriculture and Forestry Minister, Todd McClay is encouraging farmers, growers, and foresters not to take unnecessary risks, asking that they heed weather warnings today.
With nearly two million underutilised dairy calves born annually and the beef price outlook strong, New Zealand’s opportunity to build a scalable dairy-beef system is now.
Graduates of a newly-updated Agri-Women’s Development Trust (AWDT) course are taking more value than ever from the programme, with some even walking away calling themselves the “farm CFO”.
Meet the Need, a farmer-led charity, says food insecurity in New Zealand is dire, with one in four children now living in a household experiencing food insecurity, according to Ministry of Health data.
Applications have now opened for the 2026 Meat Industry Association scholarships.
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