Editorial: Punching Above Our Weight
OPINION: With 10,500 dairy farms, New Zealand continues to punch above its weight around the world.
Five recent graduates of Smedley Station (5000ha) at Tikokino, near Hastings, have won scholarships totalling $26,300 are this year starting diploma studies at Lincoln University.
Rabobank sponsors Smedley graduates in relevant diploma and degree courses.
“Rabobank is proud to provide bursaries to cadets graduating from the station to do further studies and build their agricultural careers,” says Rabobank East Coast regional manager George Murdoch.
The cadets who got the bursaries are Philip Cutbush, Watarawi Ngata, Dean Wardle, Ben Galloway and Jack Virtue.
Smedley Station is held in trust by Public Trust for the Crown, and is administered by Public Trust’s national farm centre managed by Rodd Hutton.
“Smedley Station is grateful for the support given by Rabobank and its generosity in funding further education for Smedley cadets,” Hutton says. “Cadets get real farming experience and every decision affects the welfare of the station. Cadet training is funded directly from Smedley revenue.”
Smedley is one of 30 farms administered by Public Trust. The farms range from 48ha. Five are in the South Island, the rest in the North Island, mostly in Waikato/Bay of Plenty, Taranaki and Hawke’s Bay.
There's strong support from the horticulture sector for the Government's plans to overhaul and streamline the Recognised Seasonal Employer (RSE) scheme.
With entries now open for the Ballance Farm Environment Awards, organisers have launched a campaign to bust some of the biggest myths they think might be preventing farmers and growers from putting themselves forward.
Changes to an act of parliament seen as critical to speeding up access to overseas products to control pests and invasive species in NZ is unlikely to get passed before the November election.
Recent storm damage to roading infrastructure around New Zealand has prompted a call for the Government to change the settings for funding rural roads - with the aim of providing more money to make them more resilient to adverse events.
Organics Aotearoa New Zealand (OANZ) spent two days in Wellington last week meeting political parties and key stakeholders to press the case for a National Organic Policy and dedicated investment.
Ravensdown has reported a net profit before tax and rebate of $50.1 million for the year ended 31 May 2026.

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