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tate Highway 2 through the Waioweka Gorge from Gisborne to Opotiki has been closed and the road around the costs SH 35 is also being blocked. Photo Credit: New Zealand Transport Agency Waka Kotahi - Waikato & Bay of Plenty Facebook Page.
OPINION: The past few weeks have been tough on farms across the North Island: floods and storms have caused damage and disruption to families and businesses.
While most dairy farms were mostly spared, orchards and sheep and beef properties found themselves in the firing line.
A major issue, weeks on from the storms, is the condition of major roads in Northland, Hawke's Bay and parts of Bay of Plenty.
State Highway 2 through the Waioweka Gorge from Gisborne to Opotiki has been closed and the road around the costs SH 35 is also being blocked.
There aren't a lot of dairy farms in the region and those impacted by the road closures are being taken care of by Fonterra.
A silver lining for the dairy sector has been heavy rainfall, welcome by dairy farms that were starting to get dry.
It's now greened up, and the grass is growing, and farmers are relying less on supplements.
Post-storms, rural advisory groups coordinated well to build a clear picture of what was happening on the ground and ensure that information was shared where it needed to be.
According to Federated Farmers, we've come a long way in this space, including last year's progress on legislative reform to ensure rural people and businesses finally have an experienced voice in emergency management planning and response.
It notes that having at least one person with rural expertise on each of New Zealand's 16 regional Civil Defence Emergency Management (CDEM) groups put farmers in a much stronger position for the future.
Rural communities have strong local networks, people and equipment ready to help. However, those resources are only effective if they're properly integrate into the formal emergency management system.
New Zealand's pest problem has reached crisis point, according to Federated Farmers' second National Pests Survey, which shows farmers are spending more money and effort on control — yet pest numbers keep climbing faster than they were two years ago.
Despite political shenanigans in Wellington, farmers are confident that Resource Management Act (RMA) reforms will get over the line in this term of Parliament.
The Government has announced it will pause key parts of Waikato Plan Change 1 (PC1) in a decision that is set to give Waikato farmers a reprieve from new consenting and farm-planning requirements while the wider resource management system is overhauled.
OPINION: As the general election approaches, political parties are churning out policies in the hope of attracting more votes.
Federated Farmers president Colin Hurst and his family raised a glass of milk last week to toast the start of a new addition to their farming operation at Makihihi, south of Timaru.
An Auckland gelato shop and an established New Zealand ice cream maker have both been named Supreme Champions at the NZ Ice Cream & Gelato Awards 2026.
As the cost-of-living crisis continues to put pressure on household grocery budgets, new figures show pork remains one of the most affordable fresh meat options for New Zealand families.
OPINION: In politics, credibility is and should be big. It must surely rank higher than charisma, which is quite trite and superficial. Yet, voters nowadays are often wooed and influenced by how someone looks or talks at a superficial level. TV plays a huge role in this.
Farmers can spend less time on paperwork, thanks to a new data sharing agreement between DairyNZ’s DairyBase and LIC’s MINDA software.
Kaikōura families affected by July's severe storm have found a practical solution to a problem that's kept some children away from regular schooling for weeks: a washed-out section of Inland Kaikōura Road, which has stopped the local school bus from running its usual route.
Rural New Zealand is welcoming the Government’s recent package of rural healthcare initiatives.
