Douglas Giles is a respected contractor operating throughout western Manawatu.

Emma Ractliffe, Regulatory Manager at Progressive Meats, has been named the FarmIQ Systems Emerging Rural Professional of the Year for 2026, while rural consultant and director at Perrin Ag, Carla Muller, has taken out the title of Beef + Lamb New Zealand Rural Professional of the Year.

Insect pest vigilance is key with spring-sown crops this year, experts say.

Two respected leaders whose work has helped shape New Zealand’s animal and plant health sector have been recognised for their contributions by the industry’s leading advocacy body.

Ballance Agri-Nutrients has launched a new digital assistant in the MyBallance app to help farmers quickly access key information about their nutrient recommendations, product and pricing information and place fertiliser orders directly from their phone.

Syngenta, the original registrant of paraquat herbicide in New Zealand and Australia, is exiting the market in both countries on commercial grounds.

Aimer Farming has launched new pasture monitoring capability that combines proprietary satellite data with AI-powered smartphone pasture measurement and live farm modelling, giving farmers a more reliable view of pasture covers across their whole farm.

Agribusiness leader and Canterbury farmer Andy Macfarlane has been appointed to the board of AgriZeroNZ, the public-private partnership accelerating the development and deployment of emissions reduction tools for New Zealand farmers.

Animal and Plant Health New Zealand (APHANZ) has confirmed several governance changes, including the appointment of Nicola Smith as President.

Catherine Beard believes New Zealand has a choice to make.

This spring, after the withdrawal of chlorpyrifos, agronomists and contractors will be considering their options to control establishment pests in fodder beet and forage brassicas.

New Zealand now has the highest per capita satellite broadband adoption in the OECD, with 1.3 subscriptions per 100 inhabitants as of late 2024.

Three of the most recently released forage brassica options on the New Zealand market offer farmers a great opportunity to step up their seasonal feed production next season.

Sometimes, doing the right thing is neither the easiest, quickest nor most financially profitable course of action.

One of the country’s biggest crop protection suppliers has made it even easier for farmers to produce healthy, high-yielding forage brassicas this season, extending its portfolio to cover all stages of crop establishment and growth.

UPL New Zealand continues to invest in the future of New Zealand agriculture through its annual UPL Lincoln University Scholarship, recognising three exceptional students in 2026.

One of the region’s biggest employers has been judged supreme winner at the 2026 ASB Hawke’s Bay Export Awards.

New Zealanders are sitting on a staggering 28 million single, unmatched socks, according to new research commissioned by heritage Kiwi-made sock brand Norsewear, and we are surprisingly patient when it comes to reuniting them.

Maintaining public confidence in farming and protecting New Zealand’s access to international markets will be two important challenges for the sector.

What’s the difference between 8,375 ha, and 68,570 ha?