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The Rural Guardian


"Significant decision": Ashburton pushes ahead with stockwater exit
Ashburton deputy mayor Richard Wilson, who chairs the stockwater transition group, described the decision to partially close the Pudding Hill stockwater race network as “a significant decision in our district's history". SUPPLIED The oldest stockwater scheme in Mid Canterbury has become the first domino to fall in a “significant decision in the district’s history”. The Ashburton District Council is working to exit the stockwater service delivery by June 30, 2027. The council
Dec 19, 20253 min read


Hemp rules changed after 20 years
Hemp New Zealand business manager Nigel Hosking shows Deputy Prime Minister David Seymour around the Ashburton Hemp facility. Anisha Satya Hemp is not a drug – that was the message Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Regulation David Seymour shared while announcing a reform of growing rules at the Hemp New Zealand Ashburton facility. Industrial hemp will no longer require a licence to grow if the plants contain less than 1% of THC (the cannabis compound). Seymour said the
Dec 18, 20252 min read


Funding fuels Hurunui ag-tech start-up
North Canterbury farmer Roger Johnson says it makes little sense for New Zealand to rely so heavily on imported nitrogen when a rich natural source already exists within farm systems. Supplied. Āmua, a Canterbury start-up based on a farm near Waiau in the Hurunui district is developing world-first wearable technology for cows that could change how farmers manage nitrogen on farm. For Āmua co-founder and chief executive Roger Johnson, a North Canterbury farmer, the idea grew f
Dec 12, 20253 min read


RMA consent extensions a major win for farmers
Farmer David Clark said the overhaul was a "tremendous success" for rural communities and their farmers. Anisha Satya A six year extension on farming consents has ended “a period of uncertainty” for Mid Canterbury farmers. The extensions were revealed as part of the Resource Management Act (RMA) replacement announcement, which saw the Act ditched for two new bills that separately regulate land use and environmental impacts. The expiry date for current consents has been extend
Dec 11, 20252 min read
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