The two women at the helm on the Federated Farmers North Canterbury executive are keen to show others there’s nothing stopping women taking the lead on the challenges facing agriculture. Caroline Amyes (President) and Bex Green (senior Vice-President and Vice-Dairy chairperson) were elected by fellow farmers at the province’s AGM in May and both are […]
Community
Norwood’s first Viticulture Day a success
Norwood’s inaugural Viticulture Day was a hit with winegrowers and agriculturalists from around the Marlborough region, with over 200 people attending the event at the Marlborough A&P Showgrounds on 22 July.
Let’s get smarter about Facebook reactions
By Southland Vice-President Bernadette Hunt I’ve been thinking about the social media chat following the Groundswell protest, and it has become really apparent to me that we’re really not clever about the way we use social media. The one sign that upset so many people seemed to be everywhere on Facebook, and we only have […]
Research key to improving water quality in Ararira catchment
Know your catchment before you take action to improve water quality. That’s one of the key findings from a two-year research collaboration between Living Water (a partnership of Fonterra and the Department of Conservation) and the University of Canterbury’s Carex group (Canterbury Waterway Rehabilitation Experiment). They were working together on the Ararira / LII River […]
Cobber Challenge: It’s Aussie kelpies vs Kiwi heading dogs
Australia’s Cobber Challenge is for the first time expanding to include New Zealand farmers and their dogs. The annual challenge has been going since 2016 and involves working farm dogs being fitted with a GPS collar that tracks their distance travelled, work hours done and speed over a three-week period. Points are accorded, the dogs […]
Are we barking at deaf sheep?
By Leigh Catley, GM Communications, Federated Farmers Groundswell’s tractor and tradie national protest on July 16 left many Federated Farmers members asking … what happens next? Did anyone actually hear the farmers’ messages, or are the folks in government circles in Wellington too much like deaf sheep to pick up on what a 50-town protest […]
Wedging open the door to additional wool sales
A group of Year 13 agribusiness students at a Dunedin College are working hard to put a bit of bounce back in wool demand, ‘one baale at a time’. Kavanagh College student company Under the Door Enterprises, competing in the national Young Enterprise Scheme, has devised a door wedge made of wool carpet off-cuts and […]
Applications open 9 July for $4 million Canterbury flood recovery fund
The Ministry for Primary Industries (MPI) is encouraging all farmers and growers affected by flooding in Canterbury to apply for support from a new $4 million fund. Applications will open this week for the expanded Canterbury Flood Recovery Fund, which was set up to support the region’s recovery from a one in 200-year rainfall event. […]
AWDT, Know your Mindset. Grow your Influence
When the pressure is on, sometimes it’s best to just pause and re-focus on what’s really important to your family, farm and community. New from @AWDT, Know your Mindset. Grow your Influence is a short, personal development programme for both women and men – designed to help you respond to change with positive, meaningful action. […]
It’s so important to take time out
Working in the agri-nutrient sector, Calvin Ball says he has seen a significant change in farmers’ attitudes to health and safety in recent years. Calvin, the Northern 2021 FMG Young Farmer of the Year, grew up on a Northland dairy farm, studied agriscience at Massey and began his career with an agri-nutrient company in 2013. […]