New Zealand Apple Industry Enjoys Second Strong Season In A Row
The chief executive of Apples and Pears New Zealand, Danielle Adsett, says fruit quality this year is phenomenal and the sector is hitting crop estimates, which is great for growers.
A major cost in getting farms back in operation is re-fencing, given the cost and availability of fence posts.
Coming to the rescue is a Marlborough company called 'RePost' which specialises in recycling posts.
It's the brainchild of Greg Coppell who runs a sheep and beef farm in Marlborough. For the past three years he's set up a company that recycles posts that get snapped off at the ground in local vineyards.
Rather than just throwing these away, Coppell removes any nails or fittings from the posts and turns them into perfectly good fence posts, which sell for about two thirds less than new posts.
He says he's had a call from the Hawke's Bay Regional Council to come to that district and recycle the posts from wrecked vineyards and orchards.
"Our system is mobile and so we may do this on site at the orchard, but the council has offered us some land where we can operate from," he says.
The initial work will be done in Hawke's Bay, but Coppell says they may also operate in the Gisborne district as well.
Special courses for secondary school teachers to help excite kids about agriculture and horticulture are now being run at Massey University.
Running a tight and self-contained ship is the key to the success of the country's largest dairy farmer, says Blair Robinson, the new man at the helm of Dairy Holdings.
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.
A Palmerston North shearer has been sentenced to six months' community detention and 12 months' supervision after being found to have physically abused three lambs while shearing them.
Power Farming has launched a joint venture in Southland.
Food rescue charity Meet the Need has released its 2025/26 Impact Report, revealing a record year of growth alongside a stark warning: demand for food support across New Zealand is rising faster than supply can keep up.

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