Birth woes
OPINION: What does the birth rate in China have to do with stock trading? Just ask a2 Milk Company.
OPINION: Your old mate reckons a wake-up call is overdue for the platoons of non-productive (and now unemployed) bureaucrats, researchers and various other bludgers whingeing about the current government putting out the bonfire of taxpayer money that burned so brightly in recent years.
NZ is not in a good financial state (income dropping, debt increasing, etc) and the world order is changing rapidly.
Chinese warships firing live rounds in the Tasman Sea with little to no warning is a good indicator that a future anchored to China buying our produce, or sending us tourists, is not goint to be a winning strategy for much longer.
We need to get the books in order sooner rather than later, and like it or not, up our military contribution compared to our allies.
And, despite the wailing and moaning, that means cutting out the deadwood.
As New Zealand marks the United Nations’ International Year of the Woman Farmer 2026 (IYWF 2026), industry leaders are challenging the misconception that women only support farming.
Fonterra’s impending exit from the Australian dairy industry is a major event but the story doesn’t change too much for farmers.
Expect greater collaboration between Massey University’s school of Agriculture and Environment and Ireland’s leading agriculture university, the University College of Dublin (UCD), in the future.
A partnership between Torere Macadamias Ltd and the Riddet Institute aims to unlock value from macadamia nuts while growing the next generation of Māori agribusiness researchers.
A new partnership between Dairy Women’s Network (DWN) and NZAgbiz aims to make evidence-based calf rearing practices accessible to all farm teams.
Despite some trying circumstances recently, the cherry season looks set to emerge on top of things.

OPINION: Here w go: the election date is set for November 7 and the politicians are out of the gate…
OPINION: ECan data was released a few days ago showing Canterbury farmers have made “giant strides on environmental performance”.