Carpet decision 'bonkers' - Shaw
Green Party co-leader James Shaw has described the Ministry of Education’s decision to carpet 800 small and rural schools in synthetic carpets as “bonkers”.
OPINION: It's hard to comprehend the ignorance and stupidity of the so-called leaders in the Ministry of Education who for some incomprehensible reason seemed hell bent on perpetuating the myth that agriculture is just for ‘dummies’.
Their unilateral decision, based on their own enclosed Wellington view of the world, to abolish the academic science subjects of agriculture and horticulture must rank as one of the dumbest ideas ever made in the ag sector in at least the last 70 years.
Yes, there is an important place for vocational training, but have these so-called educators never heard governments of all colours point to the need for NZ to get the brightest and best people into highly skilled well-paid jobs in agriculture and horticulture.
There needs to be an education programme run for the educators about the technology which drives our primary sector.
LIC shareholders have elected a new North Island representative to the co-operative's Board, along with five representatives to its Shareholder Reference Group (SRG), following the company's Annual Meeting held in Invercargill.
Farmers across parts of Southland and South Otago are continuing to deal with difficult conditions after a prolonged run of wet weather, with pressure building around feed supply, stock management, pasture damage, farm infrastructure and everyday workloads.
Federated Farmers says it welcomes Labour's commitment to reviewing the Sharemilking Agreements Act, calling on other major parties to do the same.
For Canterbury dairy farmers Sian Meijer and Rick Wobben, wearable technology has become one of their most valuable on-farm tools - helping manage 1850 cows across an expansive, high-performing dairy operation while improving efficiency, mating outcomes and day-to-day decision making.
Fonterra has unveiled its annual results for the 2026 financial year, posting $27 billion in revenue and close to $20 billion returned to New Zealand farmer owners and unit holders.
The first major update to the Dairy Cattle Code of Welfare in more than a decade has been released, marking what DairyNZ describes as an important step in ensuring animal welfare standards continue to evolve alongside scientific evidence and on-farm realities.
OPINION: It seems Canterbury processor Synlait is still in the doldrums.
OPINION: Get offside with New Zealand First leader Winston Peters at your own peril.