New Zealand avocado growers are heading into what could be a record season, with almost eight million trays expected to reach domestic and export markets in 2026-27. The crop is forecast to be worth around $160 million at wholesale level, with close to five million trays destined for export and almost three million expected to be consumed at home. But NZ Avocado chief executive Brad Siebert says producing more fruit is only part of the equation. The challenge is making sure g

A Lighter Touch programme director Livia Esterhazy says pesticide resistance is a growing global threat with implications for crop production and food security. Pesticide resistance is often compared with antibiotic resistance in humans. The more heavily a product is relied upon, the greater the chance the pest, weed or disease it is designed to control will adapt and become harder to kill. For New Zealand growers, that is no longer a distant or theoretical risk. A Lighter To

Canterbury Young Grower of the Year winner Amber Davy (right) with Canterbury Growers Association chair Rob Lindsay. Photo: Supplied Amber Davy may have fallen into the potato industry by accident, but seven years on she has firmly established herself as one of horticulture’s emerging leaders. The 29-year-old Eurogrow quality and field manager has won the 2026 Canterbury Young Grower title after competing against six other contestants at Lincoln University on June 25. Davy wi

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

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

Some dreams sit quietly in the background for years. Not because they are small, but because they require time, money, patience, and a certain amount of stubborn belief. For Matt and Helen Barbour, owning their own vineyard was one of those dreams. Matt has been in the wine industry most of his adult life. He studied viticulture and oenology at Lincoln University in the mid-2000s and has worked in wine since. Having a vineyard was never guaranteed, but it was always the goal.

Garston Hops covers about 30 hectares, with plans to reach 40. Supplied. Deep in the heart of Southland, at latitude 45 degrees south, sits one of the world’s most unexpected horticultural ventures. Garston Hops, owned and operated by James and Lizette McNamee and their family, has become the southernmost commercial hop farm on the planet. What started as a small experiment has grown into a thriving business supplying breweries from Invercargill to Auckland and across the wor

Lincoln University agriculture student James Clark says the Ravensdown scholarship will make a big difference as he heads into his second year. Eighteen-year-old James Clark was in the middle of farm work when he got the call telling him he’d won the 2026 Ravensdown Hugh Williams Memorial Scholarship. “I had to take a couple of minutes just to stop and get my head around it,” he said. “I was quite amazed, really.” Clark, a Lincoln University agriculture student from Valetta,