Move over ham, here comes lamb
It’s official, lamb will take centre stage on Kiwi Christmas tables this year.
The Agri-Women's Development Trust business programme for sheep and beef farming women has been confirmed for 2016 with funding from the Red Meat Profit Partnership.
Fourteen programmes will be held around New Zealand that will further engage women as critical farming partners by building business knowledge skills and confidence.
Each programme consists of four high-quality, full-day workshops delivered by industry experts over four months in a relaxed and supportive environment.
Understanding Your Farming Business (UYFB) is funded by the Red Meat Profit Partnership (RMPP).
More than 150 women completed the programme in 2015 following an earlier pilot in partnership with Beef + Lamb New Zealand that involved 90 women.
Programmes will be run in the Wairarapa, Tararua, Hunterville, Stratford, Blenheim, Cheviot, Wanaka, Gore, Hawkes Bay, Gisborne, Rotorua and National Park.
See www.awdt.org.nz
A firm belief in the agricultural sector has kept the PGG Wrightson business going for 175 years, says chief executive Stephen Guerin.
The country'a largest A&P Show - Canterbury - will be "back where it belongs" this year, running from the Wednesday through Friday of Christchurch's iconic Cup Week, after a two-year experiment of running Thursday to Saturday instead.
Wet autumn weather is posing challenges for aerial topdressing operators and farmers are being urged not to put pressure on pilots to fly in borderline conditions where safety could be at risk.
Now it's signed, make it work.
State farmer Pāmu says a programme it's running to help skilled operators into farm ownership is paying dividends.
Central Otago farmer Bevan McKnight no longer worries about leaving a few Angus cattle behind while mustering on the 13,000ha station he leases.