New pasture guide launched to support farmers in a changing climate
A new publication has been launched that offers a comprehensive and up-to-date resource on commercially available grazing pasture species in New Zealand.
Kate Stewart, helped by a pet ram lamb Skippy, won this year’s Massey University Rural News Group-sponsored video competition.
The competition involved students creating a ‘commercial’ to encourage students in secondary schools to choose a career in agri and Massey University as the place to do this.
Good entries poured in, but none could head off Skippy the lamb, who led viewers on a tour of the university, on field trips and even to the Massey/Lincoln exchange visit.
This was the clear and popular winner.
Stewart, who has now completed her ag science degree, hales from Palmerston North and is heading to Te Awamutu as a DairyNZ trainee consulting officer. While she doesn’t come from a farm, her grandparents do.
“I went to Palmy girls college, but my grandparents have a dairy farm 20 minutes out of the city and I love the people and animals – especially calving,” she told Rural News. “I’d stay out with my grandparents every weekend so that sparked the love of agriculture.”
Stewart says she saw others making videos and after taking Skippy along to campus she decided he had a good story to tell.
“So I put the footage together and entered it in the competition. I enjoyed making the video as I hadn’t made one since I was at secondary school. It was quite a challenge at times, but Skippy cooperated and didn’t leave any ‘visiting cards’ in the library,” she says.
Stewart also won the Young Farmers Sally Hobson Award.
Sheep and beef farmers are urging the Government to do more to stop productive farmland overrun by pine trees.
Auckland’s Eventfinda Stadium saw New Zealand’s top butchers recognized at the National Butchery Awards.
According to the latest Beef + Lamb New Zealand (B+LNZ) Stock Number Survey, sheep numbers have fallen by 1% while beef cattle numbers rose by 4.4%.
Beef + Lamb New Zealand says it is seeing strong farmer interest in its newly launched nProve Beef genetics tool, with early feedback and usage insights confirming its value in helping farmers make better breeding decisions and drive genetic improvement in New Zealand's beef herd.
The Innovation Awards at June's National Fieldays showcased several new ideas, alongside previous entries that had reached commercial reality.
To assist the flower industry in reducing waste and drive up demand, Wonky Box has partnered with Burwood to create Wonky Flowers.
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