Lame Duck?
OPINION: The media is already playing the 'who will Winston choose?' game every time the polls show Labour and National neck and neck.
The National Government already has a sharp eye on next year’s poll.
At National Fieldays this month, there was a steady stream of government ministers, including first-time visitors like Minister for Climate Change Paula Bennett. At one pre-Fieldays event, invited media were surprised to see PM John Key, his deputy Bill English, science minister Steven Joyce, primary industries minister Nathan Guy and his associate minister Jo Goodhew. With Winston Peters making overtures to rural voters by appearing at Fieldays, the Government was not leaving anything to chance.
Tracing has indicated that the source of the first velvetleaf find of the 2025-26 crop season, in Auckland, was likely maize purchased in the Waikato region.
Fish & Game New Zealand has announced its election priorities in its Manifesto 2026.
With the forage maize harvest started in Northland and the Waikato, the Foundation for Arable Research (FAR) is telling growers of later crops, or those further south, to start checking their maize crop maturity about three weeks prior to when they think they will start silage harvesting.
Irrigation NZ is warning that the government's Resource Management Act (RMA) reform risks falling short of its objectives unless water use for food production and water storage infrastructure are clearly recognised in the goals at the top of the new system.
More than five million trays, or 18,000 tonnes, of Zespri’s RubyRed Kiwifruit will soon be available for consumers across 16 markets this season.
The Government has announced its support for 18 community-based initiatives through its Rural Wellbeing Fund.