A new four-year research programme will investigate whether New Zealand beef cattle can be bred to become more feed efficient and produce less methane without compromising the productivity traits farmers rely on.

It has been another stellar year for our primary sector. I can’t think of another season with the confluence of favourable grass growth and high product prices. The $64 billion of export revenue earned this year is testament to the critical nature of the primary sector to the wider New Zealand economy. An incredible 82% of our merchandise exports.

There is an uncomfortable contradiction sitting at the heart of New Zealand’s food system. We are one of the world’s great food-producing nations, exporting high-quality meat and dairy products around the globe, yet an increasing number of New Zealand families are finding those same foods difficult to put on their own tables. 

DairyNZ is calling on political parties to commit to six practical policy priorities it says are needed to unlock growth in New Zealand’s largest export sector and give dairy farmers the confidence to keep investing in productivity, sustainability and regional communities.

Massey Ferguson has added its Dyna-VT continuously variable transmission to the MF 5S range in Australia and New Zealand, giving buyers of the 105 hp to 145 hp tractors a third transmission choice and broadening the capability of a series already well established in loader work.

For generations, New Zealand agriculture has excelled at producing some of the world's highest quality raw materials. Wheat, milk, meat, wool and horticultural products have earned international reputations for quality and consistency, yet many of the processed foods filling supermarket shelves continue to rely heavily on imported ingredients.

Effective pest control has always been a balancing act between efficacy, environmental responsibility and practical application.

For generations, New Zealand farmers and contractors have relied on trusted names like Agpac and Donaghys Crop to help protect one of their most valuable assets – the harvested crop.

As global markets grapple with renewed inflationary pressures, geopolitical instability and the prospect of higher interest rates, New Zealand farmers are better positioned than many international competitors to navigate the challenges ahead.

Gallagher has appointed Rob Clayton as chief executive of its global Animal Management business to lead the next stage of growth across key markets.

Waikato-based agribusiness leader Geoff Maber has been appointed an Officer of the New Zealand Order of Merit (ONZM) in the King’s Birthday Honours, recognising a lifetime of service to agribusiness, the rural sector and the wider community.

Rural contractors have been assured by WorkSafe that its focus on support over enforcement is here to stay.

A Central Canterbury business which turns malting barley into a key ingredient in beer making has celebrated its 100% New Zealand-grown status with a special event.

For an export-dependent country like New Zealand, market access is often treated as something we either have or don't have. Secure a trade agreement, meet the required standards, build customer relationships and get on with producing quality food. The reality is far more complicated. 

There is a quiet shift taking place across Hawke’s Bay and it is one that speaks less to machinery or inputs and more to the decisions sitting behind them.

For traditional, rural businesses such as mine, access to reliable and efficient contractors is critical. As much as I’d like to claim that my wife and I ran our Lawrence sheep and beef farm on our own (pre-politics), I’d be kidding myself.

There is a steady confidence that comes with a distributor quietly building depth in its product offering, and in the case of Ag and Civil Machinery Direct Ltd, that confidence is now translating into a more defined presence across both forage harvesting and land development equipment in New Zealand.

There is a tendency in New Zealand agriculture to separate performance from wellbeing, to treat output, efficiency and financial resilience as one conversation and personal health as another, when in reality the two have always been closely linked.

There is no escaping the reality that on-farm diesel remains one of the most significant operational costs across New Zealand’s primary industries.

In a farming environment where input costs are punishing, environmental compliance is tightening and the pressure to lift per-hectare performance has never been greater…