Navigation for News Categories
Country
Featured Country stories
MPI's consultant spend halved, still $40m in FY2024
Government departments and agencies were ordered to find savings last year, including salaried and contracted staff.
'Sea sausage': Kiwi fishers create innovative crayfish bait
7 Apr 2025The bait is made entirely of crayfish waste products.
Country Life: 'I always give them a little blessing before they fly away'
5 Apr 2025Gloria Harris has been running a nohinohi little owl and ruru morepork rescue service for 30 years. "I've probably cared for close to 300 birds."
Sculpture festival with rural backblocks flavour at Kimbolton
4 Apr 2025The tiny Manawatū town will host the biennial event for the fifth time this weekend.
Country headlines with summaries.
NZ hazelnut producers plead for more research to crack open opportunities
4 Apr 2025Local growers account for just 10-15 percent of the nuts consumed in New Zealand each year.Audio
Marsden Point closure sparks five-year delay, re-location of $70m glasshouse
2 Apr 2025Northland will likely miss out on a multimillion-dollar, government-backed vegetable growing operation following the closure of the Marsden Point refinery near Whangārei.
Tasman famers pin hopes on forecast rainfall
2 Apr 2025A farmer in the drought-stricken Tasman District says the heavy rain forecast for tomorrow will be a much-needed relief.
Industrial hemp should be an 'agricultural crop' not a 'drug', says grower
1 Apr 2025The industrial hemp sector is feeling unified and buoyant by a long-awaited regulatory review that it hopes will see more farmers adopt the crop and unlock its economic, social and environmental…
Father-of-two wins shearing double-crown
1 Apr 2025The first-time finalist blitzed the field during Saturday's Great New Zealand Muster, shearing 25 sheep in less than 20 minutes.
Plastic wrap producers targeted under proposed 'Green Farms' scheme
6 Apr 2025A levy would contribute to the recycling of baleage and silage covers.
Northland farmers welcome heavy rainfall amid drought
6 Apr 2025The president of Federated Farmers in Northland says farmers have been grateful for the downpour.
Country Life: Conditions on the farm
4 Apr 2025Dry conditions persist among much of the North Island but relief could be in sight. Grapes, apples and kiwifruit are being picked across Bay of Plenty and Hawke's Bay.
SheepMaster: Hawke's Bay farm's foray into shedding sheep
4 Apr 2025Dean Martin has carried on the legacy set by his dad and is not afraid to try new things - from shedding sheep to regenerative agriculture practices.
'Milk from an almond, then why not a sheep': Fernglen Farm's sheep dairy addition
4 Apr 2025Fernglen Farm is a family affair helping people learn more about the benefits of sheep milk, while also ensuring strong welfare standards for their animals and finding new ways to balance the…
NZ timber exports immune from Trump tariff hit
The United States was New Zealand's third largest market for timber exports.
Half a century on organics pioneers seek 'new blood' for farm
One of the country's oldest organically certified farms is looking for the next generation to lead its operations.
Nearly 1000 bales of hay stolen in single day
4 Apr 2025Police are investigating the theft of hundreds of bales of hay worth thousands of dollars in Taranaki.
'Fly Ferns' prepare to tackle world's best anglers
3 Apr 2025The team are clocking up the training hours on the world-class waterways of the Central North Island.
Silver Fern Farms restructures, records another loss
The red meat company has recorded another bit loss, which it put down to low market pricing and "historically low" livestock flows in 2024.
Farmers 'stuck having to use bale wrap'
1 Apr 2025Baleage preserves the quality of winter fodder on the farm, but calls to improve farm plastic recycling rates or solve the problem of silage wrap waste altogether are growing louder.
On-farm learning a success - "I've been enjoying it. I like being with the cows and being in the shed"
30 Mar 2025A training initiative in Southland is giving young adults with high-functioning disabilities the skills required to work on a dairy farm.
NZ Hops chalks up EU export 'win' amid glut
Increased hops production has led to a surplus of the dried flower used in beer making or for medicinal purposes.
Hundreds of sheep scramble through Te Kūiti
29 Mar 2025Te Kūiti has opened its main street to welcome a herd of hundreds of sheep running the gauntlet, for its annual Great New Zealand Muster festival.Audio
The guardian dog breeds protecting farmer's stock
27 Mar 2025They may look like your usual bundle of fluff or large Labrador pup, but these Maremma sheepdogs are a breed of their own.
The kūmara connection
28 Mar 2025It's nearly time for the kūmara harvest at Kai Rotorua and this year, old meets new.
NZ's fruit wins in competitive Vietnamese produce market
26 Mar 2025NZ apple exporters are trying to capitalise on the increasingly wealthy Vietnamese consumer, while elbowing out global competition.Audio
'Record' year for cherry exports
26 Mar 2025This year's exports fetched about $124 million for New Zealand, according to Infometrics data.
'It's just barren': Veteran farmer reckons Tasman's drought worst ever
27 Mar 2025Alf Kinzett has been feeding out since Christmas and will need to buy more feed for winter.
Top News stories
- Labour stalwart and former Cabinet Minister David Parker resigns from Parliament
- South Island restaurant named third best in the world
- Prime Minister Christopher Luxon condemns 'trade war' aftermath of Trump tariffs
- Weather live: 'Extensive damage' as tornado hits Levin, SH1 closes
- Planned tsunami test failed because person in charge was dealing with car crash
