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Agright Operations Manager, Mathew Bryant, marks the occasion with a group of very excited Chertsey pupils. All with a basketball each, because playing a game with just one ball is boring! Amy Riach Bright blue astroturf and a brand new set of basketballs have made the children of Chertsey School into very proud athletes. A new, multi-use sports court at Chertsey School was officially opened on May 27, and it’s already making a difference for local pupils, said principal Clai

More than 120 women from across New Zealand’s seed and arable sectors attended the annual Women in Seed Forum in Christchurch. Claire Inkson More than 120 women from across New Zealand’s seed and arable sectors gathered in Christchurch for the annual Women in Seed Forum, a day focused on leadership, innovation, wellbeing, business and connection within the industry. Hosted by Seed and Grain New Zealand on May 28, the event brought together women working across the sector for

The Next Chapter Bookshop has become a destination in its own right, drawing in readers from Wānaka and beyond Tucked behind the bustle of Wānaka’s lake-side main street, The Next Chapter Bookshop has become as much a destination as the town itself. “One thing we didn’t anticipate was becoming a visitor destination,” says owner Sally Battson. “We get a lot of travellers buying books. I’m constantly surprised by how many.” In an era where print media is supposedly being swallo

For Luke and Nicole Kane, entering the Ballance Farm Environment Awards was as much about taking stock of their business as it was about recognition. “Coming off the back of doing the Rabobank Executive Development Programme, we kind of thought we might have our ducks in a row better than we thought,” Luke Kane said. “So, we thought, let’s give it a go.” For Kane, who is also Otago provincial president of Federated Farmers, the process was a chance to step back and take a clo

Fresh apricots prepared for sampling at local markets, where the Wilsons connect directly with customers. On a hillside above Clyde, the rows don’t look quite how you might expect. Instead of big, spreading orchard trees, everything is trained tightly onto wires, more like a vineyard than a traditional fruit block. It’s deliberate, and it says a lot about the way Tammy and Trent Wilson approach farming. They didn’t come into horticulture through generations of orchardists. T

Can a chicken climb stairs? Do a high jump? Achieve total spherical excellence? Chickenstock 2026 provided an official verdict: yes, they can (mostly.) Not quite Woodstock, and with far too much personality for regular chicken stock, Chickenstock 2026 is Canterbury’s “premier poultry athletics event”, delivering the kind of passionate crowd usually reserved for international sporting finals. Organised by Mark Chirnside, barista by day, musician by night, and curator of elite

Men’s champion Jay Reeve and Women’s champion Abbey MacDonald celebrate after earning their place at the World Stone Skimming Championships in Scotland. Photo Deanna Gerlach An icy start on the shores of Lake Hāwea did little to deter the crowds gathering for the inaugural Aotearoa Stone Skimming Championships. The event, held on May 16, was presented by Novus Glass supporting Melanoma New Zealand. Wrapped in puffer jackets and beanies, spectators lined the lake edge while c

Rabobank Farm2Future students, taking part in the 2025 programme at Rakaia Island Dairy Farm. Supplied. Rural education for young urbanites in Canterbury will return for a ninth year this winter, with applications now open for the 2026 Rabobank Farm2Future camp. The free three-day, two-night programme gives 25 Year 12 students the opportunity to explore the many career pathways available across New Zealand’s food and fibre sector, from farming and food production to consultin

Arthur Burkes’s John Veale (left) and Tim McCracken with the new JAC ute at the Amuri A&P Show. Claire Inkson Chinese-built utes are gaining momentum in the New Zealand market, offering buyers a new value-driven option and beginning to reshape a segment long dominated by familiar brands. At Arthur Burke Ltd, which has its main branch in Amberley and a second workshop in Waikari, sales manager Tim McCracken says interest in the JAC T9 has been strong, particularly among tradie

A wise man (Ben Harper) once said, “there’s good deeds and there’s good intentions, and they’re as far apart as heaven and hell.” The news that Wattie’s and McCain’s are shutting down New Zealand manufacturing due to high energy, labour and environmental costs feels like a case study in exactly that gap. Good intentions, uncomfortable outcomes. New Zealanders, and our governments, expect farmers and factories to produce food with high environmental standards, strong labour pr

Nathan and Joy Dodd at the Wānaka A&P Show in March. Claire Inkson On a clear Southland day, with Stewart Island visible off the back of the property, Nathan and Joy Dodd’s Glenham farm does what it has always done - just gets on with it. There is no big pitch, no grand claims. Just stock that performs, year in, year out. The Dodds run Glenvale Texel Stud with their son Ted on around 600 hectares of rolling hill country near Wyndham, alongside a self-contained sheep and beef

Record crowds gathered at the 2026 Methven machinery auction, much to the delight of organiser Alastair Clemens. There’s no gavel in sight. Just an auctioneer with a keen eye, and a clipboard to bang. But auction day was a huge success for the Methven Lions Club, who hit record numbers at the Methven Machinery Auction on Friday, May 15. With 224 lots on offer, the annual machinery auction has continued to grow in popularity, after beginning in 2024 with just 90 lots up for sa

Tony and Michelle Roberts with Kate Roberts and Mark Lieshout, recognised as Southland Regional Supreme Winners at the Ballance Farm Environment Awards. Tony and Michelle Roberts, alongside daughter Kate and her partner Mark Lieshout, run their Merino Downs farm near Gore as Top Deck Trading, a family operation built on long term thinking, hard decisions and a willingness to adapt. This year, that approach saw them named 2026 Southland Regional Supreme Winners at the Ballance

Ignacio Perez, herd manager at Mount Rivers, with his partner Yanina Ferro. With cattle moving taken care of, they get to see a lot more of each other at home. From Ashburton New Zealand, all the way to Osorno Chile: herding cows via satellite from 12,000 km away. In Valetta, near Mayfield, Mount Rivers is the latest in a growing community of Kiwi farms to adopt an innovative approach to farming, connecting family and technology, and stretching all the way from rural New Zeal

The Whitcombe Landcare Group has been quietly building real momentum across the upper Rakaia catchment, with the past year marked by practical progress in freshwater monitoring, pest management and community-led environmental action. Backed by facilitation support and targeted project funding, the group has been turning local knowledge and landholder commitment into meaningful work on the ground. One of the group’s main areas of focus has been developing a coordinated pest ma

Scott and Stacey Mackereth were named the 2026 New Zealand Share Farmers of the Year at the New Zealand Dairy Industry Awards in Rotorua. Supplied. Southland couple Scott and Stacey Mackereth say people, relationships and creating opportunities for others have been central to their success after being named the 2026 New Zealand Share Farmers of the Year. The couple took out the national title at the New Zealand Dairy Industry Awards in Rotorua on May 9, alongside three merit

Farmers across Mid Canterbury are encouraged to step away from the pressures of the paddock this weekend, and focus on connection, wellbeing, and a bit of friendly competition at the upcoming Tennis for Farmers event. Hosted by the Mid Canterbury Rural Support Trust, the event will be held on Sunday, May 17, from 3-7pm at the Ashburton Trust Tennis Centre. Organisers Tom Matteucci and Crystal Jewell are both third-year scholarship students from Lincoln University, and inspire

Why local, seasonal shopping is finding its place again Becks and Dryden Power at The Country House Greengrocer in Woodend. Greengrocers are quietly making a comeback. Rising food prices and a growing focus on seasonality are pushing more people to think about where they shop and what they’re buying. In the small town of Woodend in North Canterbury, one store is leaning into it. At The Country House Greengrocer, people aren’t just moving in and out. There’s a coffee from next

Outgoing Mid Canterbury Federated Farmers of New Zealand provincial president David Acland (left) hands over the reins to incoming president Kerry Harmer following his four-year tenure. Harmer becomes the first woman to hold the role in the branch’s 81-year history. Photo: Angela Cushnie There has been a changing of the guard at Mid Canterbury Federated Farmers, with high-country farmer Kerry Harmer taking over as provincial president after the completion of David Acland’s fo

Maybe things haven’t gone the way you hoped lately. Maybe the season turned on you, the bills stacked up, or someone said something that affected you more than it should have. Rural life has a way of throwing curveballs with extra force — fuel prices, weather, markets, regulations, breakdowns, and the sheer unpredictability of working with land, animals, and machinery. There are absolutely things outside your control: what others say and do, luck, timing, the weather, traffic