The bunting’s up, sandwiches have been cut, crosses bearing the names of fallen soldiers are around the cenotaph and freshly made wreaths are ready to be placed.

It’s a common scene on Anzac Day around rural New Zealand but one small town goes to special lengths to involve its community every year.

This year in the Manawatū township of Halcombe, baggy 1940s-style suits have come out, the sleeves adorned simply with the letters H.G.

They’ll be worn by a contingent representing the local Home Guard, platoons of volunteers set up to protect New Zealand in case of invasion during WW2.

Each year Halcombe features a different theme “so we really get a sense of what was happening, and so we can all really learn from it”, one of the organisers Alex Short told Country Life.

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Last year the emphasis was on the “Land Girls” who looked after farms and food production when many of the workers went overseas to fight.

This year Short’s father Wayne had done a lot of research on the local Home Guard platoons for a display in the town’s Memorial Hall where locals, and many out-of-towners, would gather for a cup of tea and baking after the ceremony.

Among letters, diaries and training manuals from the period, he discovered a secret group, given priority access to weapons, led by his grandfather Bruce Short.

“The Guide Platoon was actually a guerrilla warfare group, so they were trained in sabotage, to attack at night and all sorts of things like that.

“Not even the wives knew about what they were going to do, it was that top secret.”

His wife’s grandfather Eric Pryce, a WWI Miltary Cross holder, was the commander for the area, and his letters show some frustration at the lack of resources for the volunteers, Wayne said.

In the regular platoons, the men were well trained and relied on ingenuity a lot of the time, he said. They were busy working but still found time to train.

He still has the one and only gun belonging to his grandfather which had to be passed among men for firing practice.

They were expected to know the local terrain “so well they could walk it with their eyes shut”.

Dummy grenades made out of wood by his grandfather are among the artefacts on display.

“It was all about just slowing down any invading force, so drop the bridges, blow up railway lines and stuff like that, and drop trees across the roads.

“Rural people really got in behind it – they saw the need to actually support the country.

“In the cities, it was a little bit different, and they had problems getting people on board. In 1942 they made it compulsory for anyone from 35 to 50 had to join the Home Guard.”

Wayne’s daughter Alex said, through the research for this year’s theme, some people had discovered the role their forebears played in the local Home Guard, and that would be brought to life this weekend.

“We have about 20 men who will be dressed in period costume, just reasonably casual 1940s suits and stuff, with their armlets on, the Home Guard armlets, and they will be walking behind in the parade.

“I think it’s just sort of helping the people realise that these were just regular people in our community that stood up and did this job, and it makes you think, if something happened to us today, would we do the same thing? Who knows?”

The Halcombe service starts at 10.45am at the cenotaph.

Learn more:

• Watch the National Film Unit film Citizen Soldiers (1942) here

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– Published by EveningReport.nz and AsiaPacificReport.nz, see: MIL OSI in partnership with Radio New Zealand

Putting up fences, riding farm bikes and wielding chainsaws – responsibly, of course – are part of the curriculum for a course at Geraldine High School.

It’s called the Primary Industries Academy (PIA), and aims to teach students skills that translate into real-world farming jobs.

“All our units of work are NCEA but they’re unit standard,” head of department Sarah Foley-Smith said, “Which means that they’ve been written by industry for industry.”

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PIA, a course offered for Years 11, 12 and 13, is part of the Trades Academy through Primary ITO (Industry Training Organisations).

The course loops in industry businesses and experts, like Struan Moore from Strainrite Fencing, who share their expertise in a hands-on way.

” help a little bit with the coaching, mainly with the wire work,” Moore said.

He and fellow fencer Dan Douglass were on site, helping students put strainer fence posts in the ground, when Country Life visited.

Moore said PIA students had the know-how and capability to become contract fencers after school.

“They could go and work at any fencing contractor.”

He attributes that success to Foley-Smith’s teaching style.

“The kids respond to her in a way that they achieve.

“I’ve actually heard from some parents that the sole reason their children stayed at school was because of the academy.”

Similar praise rings from the courses’ students, such as 15-year-old Sophia McDonald.

“It’s helped me a lot, because last year I was a bit naughty and all that.

“I was actually going to drop out next year, but I’m going to stay, because I like PIA.”

McDonald is one of several students who will head north for this year’s Fieldays to compete in the Silver Staples, a fencing competition that the school won in 2025.

Like most PIA students, she enjoyed the practical work and getting outdoors.

The course is selected-entry. Hopeful Year 10s send in a written application, partake in a practical interview and attend a sit-down meeting with their parents.

Foley-Smith said selections are less focused on excellence, and more on teamwork and persistence.

“A lot of my students probably would normally leave school [by] end of Year 11,” she said.

“It’s just nice if we can keep them at school and they can actually grow up; that’s the big thing about remaining at school until Year 13.”

Learn more:

• Learn more about Geraldine High School’s Primary Industries Academy here.

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– Published by EveningReport.nz and AsiaPacificReport.nz, see: MIL OSI in partnership with Radio New Zealand

Farm work offers young people a path to higher pay more quickly than many other sectors, Federate Farmers says as it releases its latest farm remuneration report.

The 2026 Federated Farmers-Rabobank Farm Remuneration Report shows the average salary of a farm worker increased three percent across the 13 roles it tracks compared to 2024, to $72,778 a year.

A dairy farm assistant, the most common position on a dairy farm, had a five percent annual pay increase to an average $63,359.

Federated Farmers employment spokesperson Karl Dean said the smaller wage increases followed a period of significant growth.

“Average annual salaries in our sector jumped 13 percent between 2022 and 2024, with a weighted average rise of 17 percent for sheep and beef farm roles.”

Pay growth was moderating back to something more normal, he said.

Rabobank general manager for country banking Bruce Weir said the report showed strong growth in total package values for farm employees.

Many are offered other perks.

“The salary figures don’t include the range of other benefits provided to farm employees, which can include things like vehicle usage, meat, firewood, phone and power allowances,” he said.

“For many farm employees, those extras can add up to several thousand dollars a year.

“Overall, the weighted average TPV across all farm employees lifted five percent to $77,030, nearly $4252 more than the average salary.”

Dean said it was a “compelling” option for young people considering the future.

“There are endless pathways and the majority of people, when they get through those lower levels, get on to higher-skilled jobs.

“There’s not many roles where you can leave school and be on to $65,000, $70,000 in your first year as a package. It’s pretty compelling.”

The wages of an arable farm machinery operator jumped 30 percent to $82,651.

On dairy farms overall, the average salary this year was $73,172 in 2026, up from $70,923 in 2024. The total package value was up five percent.

Sheep and beef farm workers overall had a drop in income, from $72,608 in 2024 to $71,504 but their total package value lifted 2 percent.

A Federated Farmers survey in February this year showed strong profitability on sheep and beef farms, but much more caution over forward expectations, reflecting ongoing cost pressures and market volatility.

“Even with conditions improving, farmers will be conscious of how cyclical schedules are, and are likely to take a cautious approach to reinvesting in staff until returns prove more reliable and consistent,” Dean said.

Arable farm workers had a pay rise from $71,541 to $73,850. The average total package value rose seven percent.

Machinery operators saw big increases in both TPV and salary, but general farm hands and farm managers experienced declines.

Deans said the pay boost for machinery operators was largely attributable to the lift in technology in harvesting and other equipment coming on to farms, and the greater level of knowledge required to operate this equipment.

“These skills are becoming harder to find and come at a cost of remuneration.

“The lift in pay also reflects the fact that the past two wet harvests have increased the number of hours worked by operators to get the harvest done and extra time spent getting crops established.”

Dean said it could be hard to find staff.

“In rural New Zealand it is still seemingly very difficult to get good staff. There’s still migrant labour required due to the fact we have very low unemployment rates in provincial New Zealand compared to the urban centres.”

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– Published by EveningReport.nz and AsiaPacificReport.nz, see: MIL OSI in partnership with Radio New Zealand

Hop farmers who have wrapped up this season’s harvest are flying the flag in the United States, despite is being a complex time for trading with that key market.

Thirsty Americans enjoy New Zealand hops in their tap and bottled beers, and the country has been through a craft beer boom in recent years.

But the market once considered a home-run is now much more difficult and expensive for hop exporters to access, due to increased import tariffs, production costs and shipping challenges in the global supply chain.

Hop Revolution grows hops key to beer brewing on 325 hectares across two farms in Tapawera in the Tasman district at the top of the South Island.

The company supplies its hops to local Stoke beers, one of the many ventures of late craft beer legend Terry McCashin, an angel investor in Hop Revolution in its earlier years.

The exports are also now on board ships to the US, into Europe but also into newer markets like Mexico.

Tariffs, global uncertainties prompt diversification

Company co-founder and plant scientist, Dr Susan Wheeler said the US remained its dominant market, but import tariffs enforced last year and extra costs forced some diversification.

“The US has remained a major customer for us, but obviously in the last year with certain tariffs and uncertainties, we’ve really been expanding out into other countries,” she said.

“So now I would say we’re pretty well diversified, so about 25 percent goes to the US, about 25 [percent] to Europe, we’ve now got South America and Asia.

“China in the last six months has become a focal point for us because of the [US] tariffs.”

Wheeler said war in the Persian Gulf added to uncertainties around shipping and production costs, worsened by tariff cost increases.

“We had containers on the water, then we had tariffs imposed, so we had to in some cases renegotiate with customers. In some cases, we had to wear those tariff increases ourselves.

“The Americans themselves, I mean, a lot of them are very understanding about us having to increase pricing in some cases.

“New Zealand exporters, you know, we’re all facing those same issues.”

She said New Zealand having free trade agreements with so many other countries allowed it to compete against American hops to other parts of the world.

Hop Revolution was one of several local firms that travelled to Philadelphia this week for the three-day Craft Brewers and BrewExpo America Conference, that started on Monday.

Wheeler said it would be a good chance to promote the brand and get face-to-face with existing and new clients.

Meanwhile, other New Zealanders in the hop sector were set to speak at the event, including Jos Ruffell the co-founder of Hāpi Research and Freestyle Hops, and Dr Peter Birchamm of Garage Project.

A ‘tricky’ harvest following floods

Wheeler said this year’s harvest was later and smaller than usual, because of floods that struck the top of the South Island in July.

“I think we’d all agree that it was a tricky harvest… we kind of hit it pretty hard, pretty late.”

She said the upside was that while plant stress affected yields, the hop quality was fantastic.

“The yields were definitely down, so talking to other growers in the Nelson region, we all had lower than average yields, but the flip side was the quality was exceptional.”

She said one farm came away unscathed, but the other sustained damage from the winter storms.

“We had a lot of fence damages, we had a lot of stilt on some blocks, we lost some river edging, we almost lost the pump house, but because of that heavier soil, that’s almost what we think has impacted the plants the most during harvest.

“An event that happened nine months beforehand has that flow-on effect to what the plants produced at harvest time.”

It marked the company’s seventh harvest, after being first founded in 2014.

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– Published by EveningReport.nz and AsiaPacificReport.nz, see: MIL OSI in partnership with Radio New Zealand

Global dairy prices have fallen again amid ongoing geopolitical tensions.

The average price at the latest auction, held fortnightly, fell 2.7 percent to US$4143 (NZ$7025) a tonne.

It comes after prices dropped 3.4 percent at the last auction, the first dip of the year.

The price of wholemilk powder, which influences farmer payouts, fell 0.6 percent to US$3666 a tonne.

Prices for other products were mixed.

Butter prices fell 7.9 percent and mozzarella fell 3.1 percent. Cheddar was up 1.1 percent and skim milk powder rose 3.2 percent.

In a note, NZX head of dairy insights Cristina Alvarado said milk powders showed relative resistance, though this was offset by a sharper-than-anticipated correction in milk fats.

“The scale of these declines exceeded forecasts and reflects persistent global supply availability combined with competitive pricing pressure, particularly from US CME butter, which continues to undercut international markets,” she said.

“European pricing remains relatively flat, supported by strong seasonal milk flows and steady cream availability, further reinforcing downward pressure on fat values.”

Alvarado said weakened demand for anhydrous milkfat – which fell 9.6 percent – highlighted the lack of urgency from buyers at current price levels.

She said despite the seasonal decline in New Zealand milk production approaching, there was plenty of supply globally.

Who was buying had noticeably shifted, with North Asia re-emerging as the dominant buyer.

However, ongoing geopolitical tensions linked to the conflict involving Iran are contributing to elevated freight, insurance, and input costs.

“Disruptions around the Strait of Hormuz and sustained high oil prices are feeding uncertainty into buyer behaviour, with many opting to delay procurement in anticipation of improved cost conditions and clearer logistics,” Alvarado said.

“Overall, Event 402 reflects a market still navigating the interplay between sufficient supply, cautious demand, and external geopolitical pressures, with milk fats bearing the brunt of current downside risks.”

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– Published by EveningReport.nz and AsiaPacificReport.nz, see: MIL OSI in partnership with Radio New Zealand

An Australian-led project could see Southland’s lignite, or brown coal, reserves developed into urea fertiliser.

Victorian Hydrogen is proposing a $3 billion plant to be located 30km northeast of Invercargill.

The company says it could deliver 1.5 million tonnes a year of urea fertiliser, making New Zealand’s agricultural sector fully self sufficient.

Urea created using natural gas is by far the most widely traded fertiliser in the world, and while New Zealand produces some locally, the bulk is imported.

Victorian Hydrogen’s plan would involve building a facility that can turn the Southland lignite into gas that can then be transformed into urea.

Executive director Allan Blood said it was a proven technology that was already being used in a new plant commissioned in Zambia in late 2025.

Blood expected the project, which would not involve accquiring farms, would seek fast track consenting approval.

He said environmental managment would be central to the project’s design and the company was committed to mitigating greenhouse gas impacts before the projects proceeded.

Former government owned company Solid Energy investigated a similar lignite-to-gas plan in Southland but dropped the idea in 2013.

– Published by EveningReport.nz and AsiaPacificReport.nz, see: MIL OSI in partnership with Radio New Zealand

A Northland business leading the way back to the future by selling milk straight from the farm in glass bottles is the latest to fall victim to soaring fuel prices and global uncertainty.

Bella Vacca Jerseys, founded in 2016 by sharemilkers Gavin Hogarth and Jody Hansen, supplied homes, cafes and retailers as far away as Auckland from their farm near Moerewa.

Their milk was pasteurised on-farm and was sold in one-litre glass bottles that were washed and re-used up to 50 times.

The business also supplied cafes with milk in re-useable plastic pails, and claimed to have reduced New Zealand’s consumption of single-use plastic bottles by 250,000 per year.

However, the last bottles of Bella Vacca milk were delivered last Friday.

Hogarth said a combination of soaring fuel prices, global uncertainty caused by the Iran war, and challenging weather had forced the decision.

“The biggest thing that really pushed the button was the cost of fuel. The vehicles went from costing $90 to fill up to around $240,” he said.

“We always found it hard, having to increase prices. We worked out one day how much we’d need to put the price up. Well, a week later, it wasn’t enough, because fuel was just accelerating that fast.”

Northland’s wet summer and autumn also played a part.

The couple welcomed the rainy start to the season at first – recurring droughts are the bane of many a Northland dairy farmer – but then the rain kept coming.

“There’s just no way that we could milk cows during the winter. We’ve still got paddocks we’re trying to get grass seed back into after the maize came off. It’s just so wet.”

They had tried to find an alternative supply of Jersey milk but farmers in their area were tied up with contracts to big dairy companies.

Hogarth said the business was, in a way, a victim of its own success.

They needed to expand to meet demand but ageing power infrastructure, in particular a 90-year-old earth line, meant they couldn’t run any more machinery.

To expand or branch into new products, such as gelato, they would need to set up a new factory off-farm.

“A couple of buildings came up that we could have bought and fitted out. But it’s not the right time to be going out and raising that sort of money, given the crisis we’re looking at in the world right now.”

Hogarth said the business had built up a loyal following during the past 10 years, and had received many heart-felt messages, including hand-written notes from children, since the final delivery was announced.

Reading those was both gratifying and difficult, he said.

“Our milk was pretty popular in that respect. And it’s probably made more people aware of what real food is. That’s a blunt way of saying it, I suppose.

“It costs more than normal milk. But once people tried it, they realised why it costs more, because it was completely different.”

Hogarth said the large dairy companies had to pasteurise their milk quickly and at higher temperatures due to the volumes they were working with.

“Whereas we would do it at a much lower temperature for 10 minutes. And because of that, it retains so much more of the flavour and texture of real milk.”

The business was for sale and a few potential buyers had shown interest, so Hogarth was still hopeful it could be revived under new owners.

Even if the war on Iran ended tomorrow, he expected the costs faced by small Northland businesses to keep going up.

“Each day they’re getting closer to making the decision. It’s tough out there, and the unknown is probably the biggest thing.”

The final deliveries took place last Friday.

Bella Vacca’s milk was used by cafes across Northland and Auckland, and for making gelato sold at Devonport’s Victoria Cinema.

Home deliveries were focused on Auckland suburbs where initial orders were strongest.

In an earlier interview, co-founder Jody Hansen said they started Bella Vacca Jerseys after a drop in Fonterra’s milk payout in 2016.

That had forced her to seek accounting work off-farm to make ends meet, and prompted the couple to rethink the business.

They wanted some control over their income instead of being “price-takers”, but knew they could not compete with supermarkets on price.

Instead, they opted for glass bottles and on-farm production, both as a point of difference and to reduce plastic waste.

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– Published by EveningReport.nz and AsiaPacificReport.nz, see: MIL OSI in partnership with Radio New Zealand

A Northland business leading the way back to the future by selling milk straight from the farm in glass bottles is the latest to fall victim to soaring fuel prices and global uncertainty.

Bella Vacca Jerseys, founded in 2016 by sharemilkers Gavin Hogarth and Jody Hansen, supplied homes, cafes and retailers as far away as Auckland from their farm near Moerewa.

Their milk was pasteurised on-farm and was sold in one-litre glass bottles that were washed and re-used up to 50 times.

The business also supplied cafes with milk in re-useable plastic pails, and claimed to have reduced New Zealand’s consumption of single-use plastic bottles by 250,000 per year.

However, the last bottles of Bella Vacca milk were delivered last Friday.

Hogarth said a combination of soaring fuel prices, global uncertainty caused by the Iran war, and challenging weather had forced the decision.

“The biggest thing that really pushed the button was the cost of fuel. The vehicles went from costing $90 to fill up to around $240,” he said.

“We always found it hard, having to increase prices. We worked out one day how much we’d need to put the price up. Well, a week later, it wasn’t enough, because fuel was just accelerating that fast.”

Northland’s wet summer and autumn also played a part.

The couple welcomed the rainy start to the season at first – recurring droughts are the bane of many a Northland dairy farmer – but then the rain kept coming.

“There’s just no way that we could milk cows during the winter. We’ve still got paddocks we’re trying to get grass seed back into after the maize came off. It’s just so wet.”

They had tried to find an alternative supply of Jersey milk but farmers in their area were tied up with contracts to big dairy companies.

Hogarth said the business was, in a way, a victim of its own success.

They needed to expand to meet demand but ageing power infrastructure, in particular a 90-year-old earth line, meant they couldn’t run any more machinery.

To expand or branch into new products, such as gelato, they would need to set up a new factory off-farm.

“A couple of buildings came up that we could have bought and fitted out. But it’s not the right time to be going out and raising that sort of money, given the crisis we’re looking at in the world right now.”

Hogarth said the business had built up a loyal following during the past 10 years, and had received many heart-felt messages, including hand-written notes from children, since the final delivery was announced.

Reading those was both gratifying and difficult, he said.

“Our milk was pretty popular in that respect. And it’s probably made more people aware of what real food is. That’s a blunt way of saying it, I suppose.

“It costs more than normal milk. But once people tried it, they realised why it costs more, because it was completely different.”

Hogarth said the large dairy companies had to pasteurise their milk quickly and at higher temperatures due to the volumes they were working with.

“Whereas we would do it at a much lower temperature for 10 minutes. And because of that, it retains so much more of the flavour and texture of real milk.”

The business was for sale and a few potential buyers had shown interest, so Hogarth was still hopeful it could be revived under new owners.

Even if the war on Iran ended tomorrow, he expected the costs faced by small Northland businesses to keep going up.

“Each day they’re getting closer to making the decision. It’s tough out there, and the unknown is probably the biggest thing.”

The final deliveries took place last Friday.

Bella Vacca’s milk was used by cafes across Northland and Auckland, and for making gelato sold at Devonport’s Victoria Cinema.

Home deliveries were focused on Auckland suburbs where initial orders were strongest.

In an earlier interview, co-founder Jody Hansen said they started Bella Vacca Jerseys after a drop in Fonterra’s milk payout in 2016.

That had forced her to seek accounting work off-farm to make ends meet, and prompted the couple to rethink the business.

They wanted some control over their income instead of being “price-takers”, but knew they could not compete with supermarkets on price.

Instead, they opted for glass bottles and on-farm production, both as a point of difference and to reduce plastic waste.

Sign up for Ngā Pitopito Kōrero, a daily newsletter curated by our editors and delivered straight to your inbox every weekday.

– Published by EveningReport.nz and AsiaPacificReport.nz, see: MIL OSI in partnership with Radio New Zealand

It’s one for small step for man, one giant leap for New Zealand wool.

Auckland-based company Lanaco had its EcoStatic air filters on board the Artemis II mission, NASA’s first crewed lunar flyby in 50 years.

The filters were also on board an unmanned flight in 2022.

They can be used during a fire on board, for example from a laptop or phone battery.

A fire in a weightless environment can present some unique challenges because there’s not only smoke and other toxic particles, but water droplets floating around as well.

Astronauts in these situations put on safety hoods that have breathing canisters, containing Lanaco’s filters.

Lanaco chief executive Nick Davenport said the wool-based material could give astronauts precious extra time, compared to synthetic alternatives.

“The hot particles would melt the plastic filter element and the smoke would clog it and that was compounded by the water vapour – you just imagine the sticky, gooey mess over that filter, which meant that they would have a breathing safe window on that filter of about 10 minutes.

“So when they [NASA] found out about us and EcoStatic and tried our filter and selected it, it expanded that operating window to about an hour,” he said.

Zero gravity isn’t an issue back on earth, but Davenport says the same material is also used in ventilation systems in people’s homes.

“Whether it’s smoke from wildfires or just atmosphere pollution and dust, it’s perfect for that application.”

Lanaco filters may one day play a role in a moon landing.

Although it’s a few years away, Lanaco and its supplier were investigating filtering moon dust.

“This lunar dust is extremely fine and very, very abrasive and our filter media in that very low gravity environment is fantastic at cleaning the air and taking that lunar dust out.

“So if an astronaut is walking on the lunar surface and wants to re-enter the accommodation modules then that is an application where it can be used as well,” he said.

The company was sought out by NASA in 2017 after it received sample of Lanaco filters.

They featured on an unmanned test flight of the Orion spacecraft in August 2022, beating out international competition.

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– Published by EveningReport.nz and AsiaPacificReport.nz, see: MIL OSI in partnership with Radio New Zealand

Farmers are facing their second major clean up in six months around Northern Taranaki and King Country.

A farmer near Awakino Gorge said she was cleaning up after the worst torrential rain she has ever seen.

The storm came through on Saturday night with about 144 millimetres of rain falling in 24 hours at her farm in northern Taranaki.

Gaewyn Temple-Cox from Tawariki Farms said the number of slips is shocking, and stock losses are unable to be confirmed at this stage.

She has counted 52 slips on the hills while driving around to survey the damage.

Some slips have taken out fences and farm tracks.

Temple-Cox was also concerned their dairy grazing operation will be impacted by road closures in coming weeks.

It was a busy time of the season with final weighing, pregnancy testing, and stock coming in and out.

She was not sure if stock trucks would be able to get through due to slips on the roads.

Ruapehu mayor Weston Kirton said he flew over the area in a Defence Force helicopter on Sunday and has been speaking to people impacted by the storm.

He spoke to one farmer who lost 100 lambs in the storm.

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– Published by EveningReport.nz and AsiaPacificReport.nz, see: MIL OSI in partnership with Radio New Zealand

The mayor of one town hit by floods in the weekend says there could have been more specific warnings to people near a river that overflowed, who were worse affected, and “we can do better”.

Ōhura, a small inland town in Ruapehu District, was put under a State of Emergency about 3am Sunday, with some residents saying they received civil defence phone alerts to evacuate after 4am.

About 18 people spent the night in Ōhura Memorial Hall, including some tourists who were stranded.

Swathes of farmland were still inundated on Sunday evening and the Ōhura main town centre was flooded throughout.

Ruapehu Mayor Weston Kirton said while Horizons Regional Council had warned farmers heavy rain could affect their land and livestock, it eventually turned out the bigger impact was on the town centre, where there were houses close to the Mangaroa River.

“Not only did the township suffer from flooding – because it’s not well protected with any stopbanks of note, so they basically get done like a dinner,” he said.

“And it’s unfortunate that a lot of houses are affected by it, in this case people were like chest high, taking young children out for example, and crossing over railway bridges to get into safe ground, and this was 2 or 3 o’clock in the morning.”

Kirton said some people had to make the call to self-evacuate. And around the same time that he became aware of the situation and declared a State of Emergency, some families were already wading out of their flooded homes with water up to their chests.

“It’s difficult sometimes, particularly during the night to ascertain what’s going on, the answer regarding warnings concerns – I think we can do better there,” he said.

Kirton said on Sunday afternoon he went with civil defence minister Mark Mitchell for an aerial survey of the flood impact in Ōhura.

The hill country and pastures were still flooded, particularly the valleys, he said.

Some farmlands were inaccessible due to slips.

There had been livestock loss, but Kirton said it was too early to know the extent of the losses.

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– Published by EveningReport.nz and AsiaPacificReport.nz, see: MIL OSI in partnership with Radio New Zealand

The budding medicinal cannabis sector is struggling to put down roots and another specialist processing factory is set to close.

But regulators considering current rules and a new industry collective offer some promise to reduce New Zealand’s reliance on imported medicinal bud.

There was a buzz of excitement when medicinal cannabis was legalised then regulated in 2020 with a view towards growing a domestic sector and serving patients here and abroad.

However since then, a number of firms have shut their doors, including Greenfern Industries, Cannasouth and most recently, Helius Therapeutics.

The latter is planning to close its East Tāmaki factory, affecting 65 workers. It is one of only a few medicinal cannabis factories nationwide that holds a specialist processing certification called “Good Manufacturing Practice” (GMP).

Medicinal Cannabis Council executive director Sally King said under current rules, because most producers did not hold that certification, they could only put out raw bud ingredients, not processed products like more lucrative cannabis capsules.

“In New Zealand, what we’re doing quite a lot of here is we are exporting those ingredients which are made into higher quality, more dose-specific formats,” she said.

“That’s where the real growth is.”

She said medicinal cannabis, as for many other primary industries, struggled to keep value-add manufacturing on home soil.

“What would be great, would be if we could manufacture and add value onshore for offshore markets, but it is a bit of a challenge.”

King said enabling more on-shore processing would give doctors more product options for patients, improving competition and possibly bringing down prices.

“For all primary industries, the greatest question we have is ‘how do you add the value in export?’ I think it’s an important question for medicinal cannabis too.”

Scale advantage for international manufacturers – Rua Bioscience

NZX-listed company, Rua Bioscience of Ruatoria sold its GMP factory in Tairāwhiti in 2023 to instead focus on exports, due in part to challenges associated with GMP manufacturing.

This week, it celebrated gaining new market access for its East Coast-sourced live cultivar clones into key market Canada for further processing there.

Aotearoa largely imported medicinal cannabis flower products, led by Canada, which built a multi-billion dollar local industry since legalising recreational use in 2018.

Chief executive Paul Naske said the extremely high standards of GMP should only be required for the steps after drying harvested biomass, as this would encourage more local supply into more finished products.

“The manufacture of medicine in New Zealand, yeah, it’s not easy, that’s called GMP manufacture.”

He said the company pivoted towards exports in recent years, focussing on genetic innovation and international partnerships.

“New Zealand doesn’t have a massive depth of medical manufacture in the country. We import a lot of medicine, by simple fact because it’s costly and large offshore manufacturers have a greater scale.”

Industry hopes for further regulatory change

Naske recently inked a letter with suggested regulation changes to the Minister for Regulation, David Seymour – who also investigated industrial hemp’s regulations.

These included the requirements for stability or shelf-life testing, GMP requirements, and requirements for European Union-bound exports that faced re-testing once on-shore.

It also wanted performance targets for verification assessments and for regulator staffing levels to increase.

Seymour said he referred the letter on to the Ministry of Health as the previous government set up a medicinal cannabis agency to deal with this area of regulation.

“I will be asking them to report on whether they can make these changes and if not, why not?”

He said [https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/national/497357/medicinal-cannabis-industry-growing-as-regulation-overhaul-given-green-light

cutting red tape] had sped up the export licensing process, as the number of applications also increased.

“Now they are in the process of implementing changes to make the process even faster.”

There were 26 applications that took 22 working days to process in 2022/23.

Then in 2024/25, the 65 applications took 10 working days to process.

Seymour said Medsafe’s export licensing regime review last year meant applications became electronic as opposed to paper copies.

He said export volume of cannabis flower increased from 49 kilograms in 2021 to 2310kg in 2025.

“We need to get money into the country. Not everybody likes this stuff, but there’s a market for it.”

A Medsafe spokesperson said it was committed to issuing export and import licences promptly, and was considering further feedback from industry on regulations.

“We have to strike the right balance between allowing industry to operate efficiently while also ensuring New Zealanders are accessing quality products,” it said in a statement.

In 2024, following feedback from the industry, it removed the requirement for exports to meet New Zealand’s minimum quality standards and removed duplicate requirements for assessing and verifying the products and ingredients.

It said it was also exploring possible alternative methods for stability testing, and GMP existed to ensure patients could access quality products.

“It’s important that when people use medicinal cannabis products, they can be confident they are consuming a medicine which has the stated amount of ingredient, is stable, and is free from harmful contaminants for example.

“Maintaining appropriate manufacturing requirements ensures New Zealanders can access quality products and allows us to uphold New Zealand’s reputation for producing high quality goods overseas.”

New grower collective created

Meanwhile, company Ora Pharm launched a new grower collective this week called NZ Grow Co to improve collaboration across cultivation, processing and marketing.

Ora Pharm chief executive Zoe Reece said the sector was looking to move beyond its early, fragmented phase.

“Regulatory clarity is critical to unlocking investment and participation,” she said. “What we are seeing now is the opportunity to build a more coordinated, export-focused industry that delivers real economic value.”

It said it was working with around two-thirds of licensed cultivators and had a new extraction facility in north Waikato, that was in the process of trying to obtain an EU GMP certification.

Harvest was now underway for New Zealand’s outdoor medicinal cannabis farmers, including the country’s largest grower Puro NZ.

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A New Zealand apple brand is believed to have surpassed more than $1 billion in global sales.

The Envy apple was first bred in 1985 by the Bioeconomy Science Institute (then part of DSIR) before being exclusively commercialised globally by T&G.

It’s gone on to be grown in more than 13 countries and sold in over 55 markets, and recently surpassed $1 billion in global retail sales – believed to be a first for a New Zealand apple brand.

T&G’s managing director of apples Shane Kingston said it was an amazing achievement representing many years of work by the company, its growers and Aotearoa’s horticulture sector.

He said it showed what was possible when combining world-class genetics, outstanding growers and a globally connected system.

“A billion New Zealand dollars of retail sales value across the world is no mean feat. It’s many, many years of effort building that loyalty, building the retention of shoppers, building the quality of product, building the quality of customer partnership,” he said.

“New Zealand prides itself on being an export nation and this is a fantastic example and endorsement of how New Zealand can get behind the development of a variety – a brand – grow it successfully in New Zealand and create something of scale on a global stage. So that’s really what we’re celebrating here. And a billion dollars is the first of many milestones we hope to celebrate over the next number of years.”

Envy apples are described as being of a rich red colour and sweeter than the more traditionally tart apples.

Kingston said demand for Envy apples from abroad was so strong that the majority is exported offshore – New Zealand growers account for roughly 30 percent of T&G’s global volumes and were paid $172 million last year.

He said there were over 100 such local growers that would “directly benefit”, particularly as the global apples category shifts towards premium offerings.

Between 2024 and 2035, the premium segment is expected to grow at 7.6 percent annually, compared to 4.4 percent for mainstream apples. T&G’s premium portfolio is forecast to exceed both at 8.4 percent, driven by rising incomes, urbanisation, health-conscious consumption and demand for consistent quality.

Kingston said there was particularly strong growth in Asia – Vietnam, Thailand, China, Singapore and Malaysia – as well as the United States where household penetration of Envy apples increasing from 7.2 percent in 2023 to 12.4 percent in 2025.

He said the billion dollar milestone was not an endpoint, but a signal of continued growth ahead.

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The largest pastoral farmer in Aotearoa, Pāmu Farming, is sending $10 million in special dividends back to its owner the Crown, after the historic sale of Fonterra’s consumer brands business.

Shareholders received their capital repayment from the dairy co-operative’s Mainland Group divestment this week, including $9.5 million for Pāmu, formerly Landcorp.

The firm manages nearly 360,000 hectares across 112 farms involving the livestock, horticulture and forestry sectors nationwide.

Chief executive Mark Leslie said the board was confident to make the payment.

He said the business had been focused on improving performance, as it reached the midpoint of a five-year reset.

“Over the past three years we have been focused on lifting on-farm performance, improving productivity, and running a tighter, more disciplined business. The results we’re seeing reflect the commitment and hard work of our teams across the country. Our strong commercial performance requires high people, environmental and animal welfare outcomes, as well as responsibility for the communities in which we operate.

“As a state-owned enterprise, Pāmu manages its land and farming portfolio to deliver a financial return, return land under Te Tiriti o Waitangi settlements, and grow the future of agriculture for generations of New Zealanders.”

State-Owned Enterprises Minister Simeon Brown said the payment would bring Landcorp’s total dividends to the Crown to $25m for the 2025/26 financial year.

He said it demonstrated confidence in the firm’s financial position and its ability to deliver value for taxpayers.

“Every dollar returned to the Crown is available to support the government’s investment in the public services New Zealanders rely on, including schools, hospitals, roads, and frontline services like police. That is central to our plan to deliver better outcomes for Kiwis.

“I’m pleased to see the continued improvement in Landcorp’s performance, with recent half-year results pointing to a strong full-year outcome, supported by improved operations and favourable commodity prices.”

Pamu recorded a $95m profit after tax for the six months to December 31, following a $139m profit for the year to June 2025.

The $4.2 billion sale will transition well-known brands like Anchor and Mainland to French dairy giant Lactalis.

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Fonterra’s thousands of shareholding dairy farmers are being encouraged to spend their Mainland Group capital return wisely with a focus on farm resilience.

Tuesday marked the payday for around 8000 shareholders of the co-operative for the divestment of its consumer brands business of well-known products like Anchor butter and Mainland cheese, to French dairy giant, Lactalis.

Proceeds to farmer-shareholders will vary, but the payout was calculated to be around $400,000 on average each, which is now trickling into bank accounts.

It followed overwhelming support for the deal, with 98 percent of shareholders voting in favour of it, in February.

ASB chief economist Nick Tuffley expected to see farmers pay down debt, and maybe some maintenance or capital spending for the farm.

He said rural communities in key farming areas would benefit from the cash injection.

“This is a big, one-off payment.

“It will take time for some of the spending impacts to flow through, but that is going to benefit rural communities. And also, we think it’ll put the dairy farming sector in a more resilient position.”

Tuffley said some older farmers were planning their departure from the industry.

“It will also set up some dairy farmers for their future as well, particularly if they’re looking at diversifying and putting that money to use in other ways that will help them at that time of life if they move off the farm.”

‘Never hard to spend money on a dairy farm’

Meanwhile, John Dawson, a Morrinsville-based farm management consultant of nearly 30 years, said paying down debt would be the number one priority for most of the farmers.

He said others were also planning on re-investing the money into their farm operations, like the cow shed.

“It’s never hard to spend money on a dairy farm. There are often deferred maintenance issues that need to be attacked, things like fencing and milking plant maintenance.

“There are compliance issues, which you can throw a lot of money at, perhaps upgrades to effluent systems and environmental initiatives.”

He said another option could be opportunities for improvement projects, like new buildings or upgrades to machinery.

“The other thing is that there’s the opportunity for expanding the business, you know, more cows, upgrades to cow sheds.”

Dawson said the payout also represented a chance for succession planning, which a few clients were looking at.

How to keep the payments tax-free

The payments were not considered income or a dividend, so would be tax-free for shareholders.

But much of the shareholding will be held within farming companies, which could funnel payments through the farm company bank account.

Tax adviser Craig Macalister of Southland firm Findex said tax implications could bite farmers if they spent their payments from the farm bank account on a personal asset, like a new holiday home or a holiday.

“There hasn’t really been a lot of discussion on what happens when people want to take that money out of their dairy milking company, and that’s where the tax implications could bite,” he said.

“Capital can go into a company, but it can’t come out in any other form that is not taxable unless you effectively wind that company up. That’s the problem that people will face.”

Macalister recommended farmers speak with their accountants before spending up.

From the sale of Mainland Group to France’s Lactalis, the 8000 or so farmer-shareholders will get their split of $3.2 billion, while the remaining $1b will go into the co-op.

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