Covid's urban/rural divide
According to a new study from the University of Otago, there was a visible rural/urban divide in Covid-19 vaccination rates.
Quarantine free flights, bringing much-needed Pacific Island workers to New Zealand, are being ramped up.
This follows the arrival of two flights from Vanuatu in the past two weeks. The first flight, carrying 153 Recognised Seasonal Employer (RSE) workers, landed in Christchurch on October 4. Arrivals were mostly for the Otago region.
Another flight from Vanuatu landed in Auckland last week, bringing workers mostly for orchards in Marlborough and Hawke's Bay.
A third flight carrying Samoan workers was scheduled to arrive in Auckland last weekend.
New Zealand Apples and Pears chief executive Alan Pollard says the Samoan workers will be bound for mostly Gisborne, Hawke's Bay and Nelson. "The workers will be supporting industries across the growing regions," Pollard told Rural News.
"The first flights have gone well, and preparation is well advanced for further flights at scale from November."
The Government has given the agricultural sector the green light to bring in Pacific Island workers under a quarantine free arrangement.
People arriving under the scheme must meet strict health conditions, including being vaccinated with at least one dose pre-departure, the completion of a period of self-isolation on arrival, and returning two negative Covid tests, on Day 0 and Day 5. Employers are expected to provide the self-isolation facilities.
If workers have only received one dose of the vaccine, they are expected to complete their vaccination after they arrived in New Zealand.
The scheme is open to workers from Vanuatu, Samoa and Tonga at this stage.
Analysis by Dunedin-based Techion New Zealand shows the cost of undetected drench resistance in sheep has exploded to an estimated $98 million a year.
Shipping disruption caused by Houthi rebels in the Red Sea has so far not impacted fertiliser prices or supply on farm.
The opportunity to spend more time on farm while providing a dedicated service for shareholders attracted new environmental manager Ben Howden to work for Waimakariri Irrigation Limited (WIL).
Federated Farmers claims that the Otago Regional Council is charging ahead unnecessarily with piling more regulation on rural communities.
Dairy sheep and goat farmers are being told to reduce milk supply as processors face a slump in global demand for their products.
OPINION: We have good friends from way back who had lived in one of our major cities for many years.