The model is broken – Govt
Minister of Education Chris Hipkins concedes the timing of the Taratahi interim liquidation is tough, especially for students and staff, and he says supporting them is a top priority.
The problems at Taratahi were laid open, prior to its interim liquidation in December, in August last year.
The major agricultural training institute's future remains in limbo after it went into interim liquidation just before Christmas at the request of its board of trustees.
Chief executive, Arthur Graves, told Rural News in August that as the farming sector generally was going through a reset so was Taratahi. Read the article (published in September) with his views here.
He said it was a financially tough time with student numbers down, yet Taratahi still had to spend money on reshaping courses to attract young people and to match the reset in the farming industry.
Graves said all vocational trainers were short of enrolments and the market was “tight and competitive” for students.
Graves told Rural News the construction industry was winning the hearts and minds of young school leavers who were heading for the big cities and not life in the country.
He also noted that at the heart of the problem was demographics — low numbers of school leavers due to the low birth rate prevailing for years.
Fonterra has unveiled the first refrigerated electric truck to deliver dairy products across Auckland.
Research and healthcare initiatives, leadership and dedication to the sector have been recognised in the 2025 Horticulture Industry Awards.
Virtual fencing and pasture management company Halter says its NZ operations has delivered a profit of $2.8 million after exclusion of notional items.
Manuka honey trader Comvita slumped to a $104 million net loss last financial year, reflecting prolonged market disruption, oversupply and pricing volatility.
The Government has struck a deal with New Zealand's poultry industry, agreeing how they will jointly prepare for and respond to exotic poultry diseases, including any possible outbreak of high pathogenicity avian influenza (HPAI).
The conversion of productive farmland into trees has pretty much annihilated the wool industry.