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The Hound understands the recent crowing by Massey and Lincoln universities about the ‘huge growth’ in ag student numbers this year needs to be put into perspective.
Your old mate is delighted to note the rise in numbers of young people wanting to further their studies in the ag field, because the wider sector needs well-educated new blood for the nation’s economy to keep on expanding. However, a closer inspection of the actual numbers shows that while there has been a rise in the number entering ag courses in the last couple of years, they are still below the peak numbers of only a few years ago. This old mate hopes these numbers keep growing, but urges the Massey and Lincoln publicity mongers to lay off the ‘lies, damn lies and statistics’ tactics.
The head of Massey University's School of Agriculture and the Environment, Professor Paul Kenyon, says the outlook for the primary sector is positive with record numbers of students enrolling for Massey's range of undergraduate courses in the primary sector.
The South Island Dairy Event has announced Jessica Findlay as the recipient of the BrightSIDE Scholarship Programme, recognising her commitment to furthering her education and future career in the New Zealand dairy industry.
The most successful catchment groups in NZ are those that have 'a source to sea' approach.
Expect greater collaboration between Massey University’s school of Agriculture and Environment and Ireland’s leading agriculture university, the University College of Dublin (UCD), in the future.
The quest to find innovative practical, scientific solutions to deal with water-related issues at a catchment level has been the theme of an important conference at Massey University last week.
New Zealand's diverse cheesemaking talent shone brightly last night as the New Zealand Specialist Cheesemakers Association (NZSCA) crowned the champions of the 2026 New Zealand Cheese Awards.
Tracing has indicated that the source of the first velvetleaf find of the 2025-26 crop season, in Auckland, was likely maize purchased in the Waikato region.
Fish & Game New Zealand has announced its election priorities in its Manifesto 2026.
With the forage maize harvest started in Northland and the Waikato, the Foundation for Arable Research (FAR) is telling growers of later crops, or those further south, to start checking their maize crop maturity about three weeks prior to when they think they will start silage harvesting.
Irrigation NZ is warning that the government's Resource Management Act (RMA) reform risks falling short of its objectives unless water use for food production and water storage infrastructure are clearly recognised in the goals at the top of the new system.
More than five million trays, or 18,000 tonnes, of Zespri’s RubyRed Kiwifruit will soon be available for consumers across 16 markets this season.
