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As with most parents, my mornings and life blood are fuelled by the beautiful brown elixir that is coffee. We even splurged on our own machine and our Covid panic buy was not extra toilet paper, but 20 kg of green beans and an at-home roaster. Owning a home coffee machine comes with both advantages and challenges. The water tank requires frequent refilling and it’s easy to overfill when in a rush. After one particularly sleepless night, I did exactly that, but instead of the

EcoPond being applied on Cam Henderson’s Oxford farm - a simple system targeting methane at the pond level. Claire Inkson A Canterbury farm hosted a global delegation last week as Synlait and Nestlé showcased EcoPond - a New Zealand-developed system reducing methane emissions from effluent ponds by more than 90 percent. A busload of visitors pulled into Cam Henderson’s Oxford dairy farm on March 18, carrying a mix of Synlait staff and international guests - for many, their f

Ravensdown chief executive Garry Diack. Footrot Flats has been part of kiwi culture since it was created by Murray Ball in the 1970s. Supplied. After several tough seasons in the agriculture sector, there’s a sense things are finally turning, says Garry Diack, Ravensdown chief executive. “We’re a bit of a cork in the tide of farmer fortunes. When the fortunes are going well, so do we. The long-term outlook for sheep and beef has given a bit more confidence to the sales proces

A community gathering in the Greenstreet Hall to talk about the Ashburton River, hosted by Greenstreet Catchment Group. Across Mid Canterbury, catchment groups are getting on with the job of improving their natural environment, building resilience and strengthening community connections. One group in particular – the Greenstreet Catchment Group – has found its groove over the past year, demonstrating what is possible when local leadership is backed by consistent support from

Castle Ridge Station’s Paul and Kerry Harmer after being named Canterbury Regional Supreme Winners at the Ballance Farm Environment Awards. Supplied Castle Ridge Station’s Kerry Harmer says she and her family were “blown away” to be named the Canterbury Regional Supreme Winners at the Ballance Farm Environment Awards on March 5. “We were pretty overwhelmed,” she says. “We don’t really think we’re doing anything amazing. We just do what we think is right for us and for the pla

Kerry Harmer, Paul Harmer and Ben Harmer on Castle Ridge Station, high in the Ashburton Gorge. Supplied. High in the Ashburton Gorge, Castle Ridge Station is the kind of place that doesn’t let you farm on autopilot. Frost can hit in any month. Snow isn’t off the table either. One day can be 30 degrees, the next can slide into a week of bitter cold. For Paul and Kerry Harmer, that reality has shaped a system built around flexibility, practicality, and a constant awareness of t

Over the past year, the Ashburton Forks Catchment Group has moved from establishment into delivery. The emphasis has been on practical action, learning from what’s happening on the ground, and building a group that provides value for the people farming in the catchment. The group covers the Ashburton Forks, Staveley and Alford Forest areas, bounded roughly by the Rangitata Diversion Race, Thompsons Track, and the North and South Branches of the Ashburton River. It’s a distinc

A fishing representative says Greenpeace's "vandalism" of Rakaia's iconic salmon statue has hurt a rural community just to make a political point. Greenpeace protesters defaced the large statue on February 15, just weeks after a $300,000 ratepayer-funded refurbishment. The activists replaced the salmon's eyes with cartoon-style crosses and added a speech bubble reading ‘Fonterra killed my family’. Greenpeace Aotearoa freshwater campaigner Will Appelbe said the protest aimed t

‘Let’s keep the momentum going’ was the theme for a field day hosted at Pencarrow Farm in early December. Presenters balanced acknowledging current action, which is proven to reduce nitrogen (N) losses, with new and emerging science targeting further reductions. Collaboration across the sector is evident and remains a critical part of collective action to manage N. Acton Farmers Irrigation, Ashburton Lyndhurst Irrigation, Barhill Chertsey Irrigation, DairyNZ, Enviro Collectiv

Methven farmer John McCaw fears the council’s stockwater service exit could come at the detriment of a natural waterway intertwined in the network. McCaw said he supported Ashburton District Council's decision to end the service in Mid Canterbury, but warned that a full closure “represents a grave threat to the future of the Mount Harding Creek”. “It’s more than just a water race." He is happy to see the end of the stockwater service but wants the water to still be used to ma

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

On top of water quality data collection, landowners are also expanding their knowledge of environmental management and where to make strategic investments to have the greatest environmental impact. Supplied. The Heakeo Hinds Hill Country catchment group have been collecting water quality data, carrying out eDNA (environmental data testing), and planting more natives through the catchment group. On top of this data collection, they are also expanding their knowledge of environ

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

There’s an old saying that 80% of people think they’re in the top 20% of performers. It’s human nature. But are farmers any different? Fonterra tells us we’re the most efficient producers of dairy protein in the world. Yet recent water quality results suggest there’s still room to improve. So how efficient are we, really? The tricky thing about “data” is you can make it say what you want. Take the often-quoted link between nitrates in drinking water and bowel cancer. It’s fre

Environment Canterbury Councillor Vicky Southworth  put forward the motion to declare a nitrate emergency in Canterbury. Photo: RNZ / Nate McKinnon As one of the final acts of the term, Canterbury Regional councillors declared a nitrate emergency. Few deny a problem ,  but some labelled the move as "meaningless" and marks a deepening a divide between town and country. LDR reporter Jonathan Leask looks at the murky issue. The declaration In a slim margin, Environment Canterbur