Growing up on a farm, the dangers that came with working in our sector were ingrained in us from a young age. We all had near misses, even as children. It was almost a rite of passage. On quad bikes, driving the farm ute, working in the yards and discovering very quickly what happens when you get on the wrong side of a sheep. Most of the time, they were just that. Near misses. Sadly, some weren’t. We lost young members of our community in farm accidents in relatively quick su

Once upon a time, I was sent to a Management 101 course to learn how to do the job I was meant to already be doing. Over lunch, I met a lovely lady who managed a team supporting minority women to engage with women’s health services. She spoke about how a core part of their job was simply chatting with small groups of ladies within their own communities, creating safe spaces with women who understood them and their backgrounds, breaking down the educational, social and cultura

My husband and I recently returned from a holiday in Vietnam. I found myself thinking about culture. Not the big obvious parts of culture, like language, history or food, the tiny unwritten rules people just know. In Vietnam, one of those rules is crossing the road. A raging river of scooters, cars, bikes, people and horns greet you at any road. The first instinct is wait for a gap. Except, there is no gap. On our first day I ended up messaging a local friend to ask how one

There’s nothing quite like an anniversary to make you step back and reflect on the twists and turns life has thrown at you, and to humble you with the illusion that we have total control over the events that shape our lives. Ten years ago, we were enjoying our carefree adult lifestyles with disposable income, a house that stayed clean for more than a day, and time to waste doing fun, non-productive things like hobbies or sleeping in. We made plans assuming we were in control

Succession. A sensational television show of the late 2010s? Absolutely. But for farming families, it’s also an inevitability reality every business will face. In March 2025, Rabobank published a white paper estimating that, over the next ten years, more than half of all New Zealand farm and orchard owners will reach retirement age. As a result, $150 billion of New Zealand farming assets is expected to change hands. Rabobank referred to this “changing of the guard” as what

A frighteningly long time ago, I subscribed to a weekly newsletter that provided updates on the latest science and innovations in the food safety space. One issue reported new research confirming the potential exposure risk of Campylobacter from raw eggs as 1 in 20,000. Given how dangerous I thought raw eggs were at the time, the information was a revelation. My immediate reaction was, “I’d have to eat 20,000 eggs before I got sick, therefore eggs are safe.” Then my boss said

As the financial year draws to a close, now is often the time to revisit that to-do list and those jobs you’ve been putting off all year start getting another look. Whether it’s a tractor that has become increasingly temperamental, a set of yards that have seen better days, or a project that’s been sitting on the wish list for months, the question is often the same: should I repair what I already own, or replace it altogether? The Investment Boost has added another layer to

The mornings are slow to lighten. The grass slows. Trees stand bare against grey skies. The ground is heavier underfoot, and evenings draw us indoors earlier. Across many dairy farms, cows are dry and calf sheds are empty between seasons. Elsewhere, there are wintering animals arriving, stock to feed and mud to manage. But winter carries a different rhythm. The natural world does not apologise for this. It contracts and gathers itself before the next burst of growth. Paddocks