Editorial: Right call
OPINION: Public pressure has led to Canterbury Police rightly rolling back its proposed restructure that would have seen several rural police stations closed in favour of centralised hubs.
The Canterbury A&P Association's Stud Ram & Ewe Fair, held Wednesday and Thursday, January 9-10, produced a quality line up of 235 rams and 18 ewes.
The average sale price was up on last year with $2422 for rams and $446 for ewes; total sales of $288,030 were recorded over the two days.
The highest price was reached on Wednesday with a Texel ram sold for $13,000 by Sam & Viki Holland of Culverden to DC & CM Graham of Hinton. Thursday's highest sale price was $6,800 for a Southdown ram sold by R & J Gill of Takaka to DG Somerville of Wyndham.
Stock agents commented that while total sales and clearance rates were lower than in previous years this was systematic of the general mood in New Zealand.
"It is hard to follow up on last year which was a good year for commercial ram sales. The drop in farmers requiring rams is resulting in a reduction in sales. Throughout New Zealand it is more difficult to sell commercial flock rams than it was a decade ago," says PGG Wrightson NZ livestock genetics manager Bruce Orr.
Sale comparisons over the past four years - 2013 2012 2011 2010
Total Sales $288,030 $345,750 $293,625 $380,200
Total Avg – Ram $2,422 $2,172 $1,781 $1,925
Total Avg – Ewe $446 $225 $577 $400
Applications have now opened for the 2026 Meat Industry Association scholarships.
Bank of New Zealand (BNZ) says it is backing aspiring dairy farmers through a new initiative designed to make the first step to farm ownership or sharemilking easier.
OPINION: While farmers are busy and diligently doing their best to deal with unwanted gasses, the opponents of farming - namely the Greens and their mates - are busy polluting the atmosphere with tirades of hot air about what farmers supposedly aren't doing.
OPINION: For close to eight years now, I have found myself talking about methane quite a lot.
The Royal A&P Show of New Zealand, hosted by the Canterbury A&P Association, is back next month, bigger and better after the uncertainty of last year.
Claims that farmers are polluters of waterways and aquifers and 'don't care' still ring out from environmental groups and individuals. The phrase 'dirty dairying' continues to surface from time to time. But as reporter Peter Burke points out, quite the opposite is the case. He says, quietly and behind the scenes, farmers are embracing new ideas and technologies to make their farms sustainable, resilient, environmentally friendly and profitable.
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One of the most galling aspects of the tariffs whacked on our farm exports to the US is the fact…