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Fonterra sale could inject $4.5b into economy
The dairy giant is hoping to sell its Anchor and Mainland brands to a French company, though the deal is far from set in stone. Audio
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Clydesdales: 'He's not really a horse, he's a person'
25 Oct 2025Billy is quite the character and Cate Smith describes him as her mother's one true love.
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Battling off-roaders and pests at Thornton Lagoon
25 Oct 2025Ben Banks is trying to protect the fragile dunes, wildlife and vegetation at a coastal lagoon near Whakatāne trapping for pests but there's another threat to…
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'You're never very far away from rural life in New Zealand'
25 Oct 2025Husband and wife duo Te Radar and Ruth Spencer have recently partnered together on a new book 'Kiwi Country: Rural New Zealand in 100 Objects'.
Country headlines with summaries.
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Bikes, art and walking shoes all welcome on new Canterbury trail
25 Oct 2025Volunteers are nearing completion of the first leg of a new trail for walkers, runners and cyclists in South Canterbury.
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This calf club for 'townies' has been running for four decades
24 Oct 2025At the club, the children learn about every aspect of their animal's life. Audio
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'Chainsaws running red hot': Falling trees kill sheep, cut power
24 Oct 2025Despite the damage and livestock deaths, most farmers will just roll up their sleeves and do what needs to be done, a farming boss says.
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Farmers keep milking despite ferocious wind storm
23 Oct 2025They are coping with power outages, road closures and damaging winds - with all eyes on rising rivers.
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Lawyers fail in bid for weedkiller reassessment
23 Oct 2025However, they remain concerned about the risks posed by glyphosate-based products, the most commonly used herbicide in Aotearoa.
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Time to consider controversial changes to pig welfare rules cut
22 Oct 2025Farrowing crates -which were used to prevent a sow crushing her piglets, but are so small a sow cannot turn around -were due to be banned at the end of this year under changes brought in by the…
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Ikea owner buys up Northland forestry
21 Oct 2025Ingka Investments, the parent company of furniture giant Ikea, has bought 10,000 hectares of production forestry in Northland.
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Alliance farmers vote yes on $270m deal with Irish meat company
21 Oct 2025Under the agreement, Dawn Meats will acquire a 65 percent stake in Alliance Group.
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Ex-All Black legend's farm tipped to stay in beef production
A rural land agent has allayed fears a significant Hawke's Bay farm will be planted in pine trees.
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Minister, mayor want answers after massive flooding in Waitomo
22 Oct 2025The mayor says the district was hit by "severe storms" and a red warning should have been issued. Audio
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'Size of a ping-pong ball': World's largest blueberry to be grown in NZ
20 Oct 2025The Eterna blueberry, which can grow 'up to the size of a ping-pong ball', is being planted in Kerikeri and Waikato.
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New kiwifruit orchard bought to fund Mormon church
20 Oct 2025The investment arm of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints has purchased a new kiwifruit orchard in Bay of Plenty.
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Barker's $60m factory expansion nearly complete
The iconic South Canterbury fruit company's factory expansion will come to fruition later this year, in efforts to "future-proof" the growing business.
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Carving a business out of salvage timber from the Canterbury quakes
18 Oct 2025Ever wondered what happened to some of the damaged timber from the Lyttelton wharves after the Canterbury earthquakes?
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Could kiwi be used on pest patrol in orchards and vineyards?
18 Oct 2025A recent study has filmed the rare and vulnerable birds entering vineyards and orchards at night to feast on beetles, weevils, grass grub and other insects.
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Tech is key on this Tirau dairy farm
18 Oct 2025When it comes to farming, planning for the next season today is key for a fifth generation Waikato dairying family.
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Irish company raises bid for Alliance stake ahead of shareholder vote
The overseas investment offer to rescue red meat processor Alliance Group has gotten even sweeter.
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Why Watties is turning away NZ tomatoes, corn and beetroot
15 Oct 2025Wattie's New Zealand is further reducing local fruit and vegetable crops, citing an ongoing struggle against cheaper imports.
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First calves of new dairy-beef crossbreed raised in Taupō
15 Oct 2025About 350 of the calves were born this year.
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Farmers welcome government's drop in methane targets
13 Oct 2025Farmers have welcomed the government's new "science-based" biogenic methane targets for 2050. It's dropped the reduction target for biogenic methane from 24 to 47 percent below 2017 levels by 2050,...
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'Big money' changing hands at Feilding saleyards
11 Oct 2025Global demand for red meat is driving strong prices for sheep and cattle, some of the best former Feilding farmer Eric Linklater has seen.
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Cattle, cookhouses and call of back country
Country Life spends a day with the stockmen, farmer and cook at Molesworth Station, peeling back the mystique of New Zealand's most famous farm. Audio
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Climate change impact on farms: 'Bad years' will be 'worse and more frequent'
10 Oct 2025A new report found irrigated dairy farms are particularly at risk because water supplies are expected to become less reliable in some areas.
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Growing vegetables 'like cakes relying on solar energy'
11 Oct 2025David Ruan says the colourful vegetables growing in his garden are like little mooncakes relying on the sun for energy, hence the name Suncakes Gardens.
