Rural Resilience Workshops to Help Farmers Prepare for Adverse Events
Agriculture Minister Todd McClay says a series of rural resilienced set to be rolled out next week will help farmers and growers better prepared for adverse weather events.
Trade Minister Todd McClay will take the opportunity at this weekend's G20 Trade Ministers' Meeting in Shanghai to promote New Zealand's trade interests with the biggest economies in the world.
"New Zealand's invitation to be part of the G20 process demonstrates the mutually shared value of our relationship with China, and the standing which New Zealand has built up over decades as a proponent of an open world trade system," says McClay.
"We are grateful to China for the invitation and I look forward to meeting my counterparts from G20's host nation."
"It is also an opportunity to talk to representatives from the United Kingdom and the European Union about post-Brexit relationships as the implications of the UK's recent referendum vote to leave the European Union are being considered.
"I have already confirmed a meeting with the EU Trade Commissioner Cecelia Malmström and Lord Price, the UK Minister of State for Trade and Investment, to discuss the best way to protect and advance our trade interests with both parties.
"I look forward to frank and fruitful discussions with my international colleagues discussing a range of topics, including ways to achieve a successful outcome of the next WTO Ministerial meeting in 2017."
McClay will also travel to Beijing and Hangzhou for a series of meetings with New Zealand and Chinese businesses and investors. He will visit the Alibaba Headquarters in Hangzhou to discuss future cooperation with New Zealand exporters. This meeting will be an opportunity to build on the memorandum of understanding that was signed between New Zealand Trade and Enterprise and Alibaba in April this year.
Matt McRae, a farmer from Mokoreta in Southland who runs a sheep, beef and dairy support business alongside a sheep stud, has been elected to the Beef +Lamb NZ Board as a farmer director.
Ravensdown's next evolution in smart farming technology, HawkEye Pro, was awarded the Technology Section Award at the Southern Field Days Farm Innovation Awards in February 2026.
While mariners may recognise a “dog watch” as a two-hour shift on a ship, the Good Dog Work Watch is quite a different concept and the clever creation of Southland siblings Grace (9) and Archer Brown (7), both pupils at Riverton Primary School.
Philip and Lyneyre Hooper of the Hoopman Family Trust have tonight been named the Taranaki Regional Supreme Winners at the Ballance Farm Environment Awards.
We are not a bunch of sky cowboys. That was one of the key messages from the chairperson of the NZ Agricultural Aviation Association (NZAAA) Kent Weir, speaking at an education day at Feilding aerodrome for 25 policymakers and regulators from central and local government and other rural professionals.
New Zealand's dairy and beef industries say they welcome the announcement that the Government will invest $10.49 million in the Dairy Beef Opportunities (DBO) programme.

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