Fieldays hold out the begging bowl
OPINION: When someone says “we don’t want a handout, we need a hand up” it usually means they have both palms out and they want your money.
OPINION: Once upon a time the Fieldays were for real farmers, salt of the earth people who thrived on hard yakka.
There were rural 'games' in the form of the tractor pull but the organisers never went the way of the Irish and incorporated ploughing into the event. In the early days the sites were very much rural but over the years this has changed.
Now, the cry of the urbanites and life sentence block owners has been answered with the news this year there'll be lawn mower racing.
Is this the start of an era which will see the return of sack races - the perfect event for the 'city suit types' to get their designer gear tucked into a dirty sack?
What about egg and spoon races, three-legged races and so on? Maybe guess how many jellybeans in the jar. For the hardy rural types, lawnmower racing and what might follow seems a far cry from the original concept of field days. The times are a changin'!
Philip and Lyneyre Hooper of the Hoopman Family Trust have tonight been named the Taranaki Regional Supreme Winners at the Ballance Farm Environment Awards.
We are not a bunch of sky cowboys. That was one of the key messages from the chairperson of the NZ Agricultural Aviation Association (NZAAA) Kent Weir, speaking at an education day at Feilding aerodrome for 25 policymakers and regulators from central and local government and other rural professionals.
New Zealand's dairy and beef industries say they welcome the announcement that the Government will invest $10.49 million in the Dairy Beef Opportunities (DBO) programme.
New Zealand farming is riding a high, with strong prices, full feed covers and improving confidence lining up at the same time.
Manawatu Mayor Michael Ford says the district sees itself as the agribusiness capital of the lower North Island.
Beef + Lamb New Zealand (B+LNZ) is looking forward to connecting with farmers, rural professionals and community members at this year's Central District Field Days.
OPINION: Expect the Indian free trade deal to feature strongly in the election campaign.
OPINION: One of the world's largest ice cream makers, Nestlé, is going cold on the viability of making the dessert.