NZ Farmgate Beef Prices Hit Record Highs in Early 2026
Farmgate beef prices remain at record levels and show no sign of easing.
OPINION: The Hound reckons the country's hard-pressed wool growers will be pleased to know that rural banking specialist Rabobank has laid woollen carpets in its new Hamilton-based HQ.
Apparently, after relocating its head office from Wellington to the third and fourth floors of a central Hamilton building, it was suggested synthetic carpet squares would be more appropriate because rolls of carpet were too big to lift.
However, Rabobank chief executive Todd Charteris, recognising it would be a bad look, wasn't having a bar of it.
In fact, he was so determined to have wool carpet he arranged for it to be craned in.
Rabobank sourced 3000kg of wool from three of its clients to be woven into the carpet.
It's good to see a major rural service company backing the industry.
Good work Rabobank!
New Zealand's diverse cheesemaking talent shone brightly last night as the New Zealand Specialist Cheesemakers Association (NZSCA) crowned the champions of the 2026 New Zealand Cheese Awards.
Tracing has indicated that the source of the first velvetleaf find of the 2025-26 crop season, in Auckland, was likely maize purchased in the Waikato region.
Fish & Game New Zealand has announced its election priorities in its Manifesto 2026.
With the forage maize harvest started in Northland and the Waikato, the Foundation for Arable Research (FAR) is telling growers of later crops, or those further south, to start checking their maize crop maturity about three weeks prior to when they think they will start silage harvesting.
Irrigation NZ is warning that the government's Resource Management Act (RMA) reform risks falling short of its objectives unless water use for food production and water storage infrastructure are clearly recognised in the goals at the top of the new system.
More than five million trays, or 18,000 tonnes, of Zespri’s RubyRed Kiwifruit will soon be available for consumers across 16 markets this season.

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