Primary sector on alert as red rain warnings issued across multiple regions
Agriculture and Forestry Minister Todd McClay is encouraging farmers and growers to stay up to date with weather warnings and seek support should they need it.
OPINION: The Hound is perplexed about some of the over-the-top climate catastrophising by mainstream media outlets during the holidays.
They ran countless breathless stories about parts of the country hitting temperatures of – wait for it – 30 degrees on some days.
Well, it is summer and temperatures of 30-plus degrees are not a recent phenomenon, it has been happening at this time of year in NZ for more than 150 years!
Then your old mate read a fanciful opinion piece – on a supposedly respected news website – claiming that these kind of temperatures will mean the end of livestock farming in this country as we know it.
The credibility of said ‘opinonist’ and website was put into perspective when she claimed that NZ currently had a population of “40 million sheep”.
The fact is NZ’s not had 40 million sheep for a number of years with the current flock only around 25 million strong.
Controls on the movement of fruit and vegetables in the Auckland suburb of Mt Roskill have been lifted.
Fonterra farmer shareholders and unit holders are in line for another payment in April.
Farmers are being encouraged to take a closer look at the refrigerants running inside their on-farm systems, as international and domestic pressure continues to build on high global warming potential (GWP) 400-series refrigerants.
As expected, Fonterra has lifted its 2025-26 forecast farmgate milk price mid-point to $9.50/kgMS.
Bovonic says a return on investment study has found its automated mastitis detection technology, QuadSense, is delivering financial, labour, and animal-health benefits on New Zealand dairy farms worth an estimated $29,547 per season.
Pāmu has welcomed ten new apprentices into its 2026 intake, marking the second year of a scheme designed to equip the next generation of farmers with the skills, knowledge, and experience needed for a thriving career in agriculture.

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”.