Naki unveils the world’s most expensive manuka honey
Naki Honey, a New Zealand manuka apiary company, has crafted what is believed to be the world's most expensive honey.
Apiculture NZ is seeking assurances from authorities that the country’s beekeepers won’t be faced with the same problems that their Auckland colleagues did when that region went into lockdown.
Karin Kos, Apiculture NZ chief executive, says beekeepers in the Auckland region thought because they were classed as an essential industry during the first lockdown that they would have no trouble moving through the police checkpoints. However, this wasn’t the case.
Kos says it turned out that they had to apply for special exemptions from the Ministry of Health to get in or out of Auckland and it took about a week for these permits to materialise. She says the Ministry for Primary Industries was very helpful and managed to facilitate the permits.
“But it did take a week and fair amount of work to get the exemption in place,” Kos told Rural News.
“We had beekeepers who had hives over the border and coming out of winter they needed to check that the bees were okay, well fed and ready for the honey season. They weren’t able to get to them.”
Kos says now that they have worked through the process in Auckland, Apiculture NZ hopes that this will mean that in any future lockdowns there won’t be the same hassles.
New Zealand's new Special Agricultural Trade Envoy, Horowhenua dairy farmer, company director and former Minister of Agriculture, Nathan Guy says the Free Trade Agreement (FTA) with India is a good deal for the country.
New figures show dairy farmers are not only holding on to their international workforce, but are also supporting those staff to step into higher-skilled roles on farm.
New tractor deliveries for 2025 jumped 10% compared to the previous year, a reflection of the positive primary sector outlook, according to the Tractor and Machinery Association (TAMA).
Entries have opened for two awards in the New Zealand Dairy Industry Awards (NZDIA) programme, aimed at helping young farmers progress to farm ownership.
Federated Farmers has confirmed interim chief executive Mike Siermans to the role.
Registrations are now open for the 2026 Ruralco Golf Classic, with all proceeds from the event set to support the Mid Canterbury Rural Support Trust.