Local Rural

Tight rein on farm data

Logan Dawson used data driven decision making to double dairy farm revenue. Dawson, who with his wife Sian was runner up in the 2024 Dairy Industry Association Awards Share Farmer of the Year Award, is…

Born to be a farmer

Nithmount Farm Cow 494 affectionately nuzzles 2024 New Zealand dairy trainee of the year Kirwyn Ellis. The encounter in a paddock on Hamish and Sharee Germann’s 130ha dairy farm – nestled between Mt Pirongia and…

Don’t dish the dirt

A significant part of Waikato Regional Council’s catchment management programme involves helping landowners/managers to better manage erosion prone catchments, particularly in the steeper parts of the region. Loss of productive land in NZ hill country…

Guests get the genuine product

A Kaipaki dairy farm hosted 70 Vietnamese distributors last week as part of an exclusive insight into New Zealand’s dairy industry. The 200ha farm owned by the Bardoul family is home to 600 Holstein-Friesian dairy…

A champion’s year

Emma Poole’s tenure as FMG’s first female Young Farmer of the Year is nearing its end. Last July, the Pirongia farmer, already the Waikato Bay of Plenty Young Farmer of the Year,  became the first…

Plan: have your say

It’s Long-Term Plan time again at Waikato Regional Council. The LTP review happens every three years, falling within the second year of the council term. It sounds boring, but it’s an important planning document, which…

Sidhu’s farm commission

Andrew Flay is not sure why his farm was selected for a visit from Australian High Commissioner Harinder Sidhu, but he made certain she had a real ‘down on the farm’ experience. Sidhu, who was…

Getting our plans sorted

The Environment Court proceedings for Plan Change One (PC1) have concluded, and we are now awaiting a decision which is due in the middle of this year. The new Government has signalled they intend to…

Looking at the impact of 1080

In December 2023 the Environmental Protection Authority (EPA) released its aerial 1080 poison annual report. The report states that of the 55 aerial operations undertaken in 2022, 24 incidents were self-reported by contractors and 25…

Learning out in the cold

At the beginning of November Linda Mulvihill flew to Ushuaia, Argentina, boarded a ship and began a 19-day voyage to Antarctica. “It takes two days to travel from Ushuaia across the Drake Passage, which is…

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