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Storm effects hurt 2026 honey harvest
Beekeepers blocked from getting to their hives mid-harvest due to roads closed by recent storms, are expecting a lighter and later honey harvest this year.
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Needle steriliser a 'third hand' for farmers
3 Feb 2026The final touches are being put on a new gadget promising to speed-up vaccinating or giving pain relief to livestock. Audio
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How will geopolitics impact farm inputs this year?
2 Feb 2026A new report has alerted geopolitical risks, such as tensions in Iran, could affect prices for key items used on New Zealand farms like fertiliser.
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Farms 'smashed' in East Coast storms
3 Feb 2026A clearer picture of the level of damage is starting to emerge after huge downpours hit the region last month.
Country headlines with summaries.
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Live animal export industry remain hopeful practice will resume after ban
2 Feb 2026ACT campaigned during the last election to reinstate live exports by sea and Cabinet has been working on the legislation ever since.
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IKEA owner's first New Zealand forest: 'We're here for the long term'
31 Jan 2026Ingka Investments, the parent company of furniture giant IKEA, now owns 30,000 hectares of forestry in Aotearoa. Its first purchase saw the conversion of Wisp Hill Station in southern Otago from…
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A life in the bush, a woolshed of memories
31 Jan 2026Lew Pickens' passions hark back to his days clearing land in Northland - camp oven cooking and driving bullock teams. He has a woolshed full of memorabilia on the family farm in King Country and he is…
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Milking the opportunity, no herd required
31 Jan 2026Farmers are being urged to embrace the growing demand for "experiential tourism" from overseas visitors.
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Fears dung beetle investment will be flushed away
30 Jan 2026New Zealand's only dung beetle rearing facility says it may have to close if there's not more support.
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Sprinklers for chickens? Keeping livestock and produce alive in a heatwave
Sunscreen for grapes and an all-nighter for saleyards might also be the answer for Australian farmers.
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Farmer banned from owning livestock for life after sheep neglect
30 Jan 2026Inspectors found sheep suffering from advanced foot-rot, necrotic tissue and maggot infestation.
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Australian heatwave causes $1m in crop losses to fruitgrowers
30 Jan 2026There are calls for state government disaster funding definitions to include heatwave damage to crops.
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Insurer expecting $50m in payouts from October storm
It's the second-most claims for an event in FMG's 120-year history.
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'End of an era' for Napier's wool auctions
29 Jan 2026Major wool broker PGG Wrightson will no longer hold wool auctions in Napier, after more than 140 years.
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Call to ban all caged hens
28 Jan 2026Animal rights charity says cages cause harm and distress for hens and the government should phase them out..
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Helicopters drop food, fuel into flood-hit communities
28 Jan 2026Slips have cut off parts of eastern Bay of Plenty and Tai Rāwhiti, disrupting the flow of goods and transport.
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Elite working dogs fetch more than $300,000 in auction frenzy
27 Jan 2026Organisers of a long-standing North Island working dog auction say a shortage of quality farm dogs is pushing up prices.
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'Wiped out entire crops' - Canterbury farmers frustrated by wild weather
Canterbury arable farmers are facing millions of dollars of losses after a third big hail storm hit parts of the region on Friday.
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'Plan B' wanted for highways that keep getting damaged by storms
26 Jan 2026Farmers on the East Coast are worried about how long it will take to reopen storm-damaged State Highway 2.
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150,000 tonnes of fallen trees, $1m council costs: Clutha cleanup continues
26 Jan 2026One contractor says they now have a two-year local wait list. Audio
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New world record blazes trail for more female shearers
21 Jan 2026Four Kiwi women established a new standard by shearing 1938 lambs in eight hours in a South Otago woolshed.
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'It's a little taonga': Saving one of our rarest plants
9 Jan 2026A critically endangered forget-me-not is being saved from the brink of extinction.
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Fruit fly could have 'massive impact' on crops
8 Jan 2026Horticulture chief executive Kate Scott says while the fly doesn't pose a health risk to humans, an outbreak would have a significant economic cost.
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Dairy prices reverse course, with demand rising
Dairy prices have risen sharply overnight in the latest Global Dairy Trade index, delivering a surprise uptick for farmers.
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'A lot of mud, a lot of logs, a lot of debris': Tolaga Bay farmer back at square one
5 Jan 2026Intense localised downpours caused damage that could take up to a year to repair.
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Country Life: On the job with Whanganui River's rural postie
20 Dec 2025Rural postie Tracy Marshall takes visitors along her mail delivery route which winds along the Whanganui River.
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ECan 'put on notice' over rule-making for discharges
24 Dec 2025The High Court stopped short of ordering the regional council to change the rule relating to the discharge of nitrates because of the amount of time that has lapsed.
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How planting exotic trees can help native ones grow
21 Dec 2025"You can come here and see nearly every type of forestry system that can be applied," Blair Jamieson says of Tāmata Hauhā's demonstration farm near Palmerston North.
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