Helping grow the country

Jamie Mackay from The Country had a quick chat with Andrew Gibson, Taranaki livestock manager for PGG Wrightson. All the talk has been about the dry in the Waikato. Jamie wonders whether Taranaki has fared any better. Andrew confirmed it has been dry. A couple of big dumpings of rain caused some...

Jamie Mackay from The Country had a quick catch-up with Barry Fox, PGW Livestock Manager - Dairy, live from the Oamaru sale yards. The main topic covered - apart from golf - was the livestock selling season. Barry emphasised that it's a busy time of year for traditional beef calf sales, pointing out...

The closest job to farming Ever since he was a young lad Shaun Rowe has been a farmer. “At the age of six I started my own flock of half a dozen ewes, taking the lambs to the Stratford saleyards,” he says. Shaun’s parents have a 10 hectare Stratford lifestyle block where they graze dairy heifers. “I...

Setting your own style and being confident in yourself Ben McKerchar grew up on a Winton sheep and beef farm, while his father Ross was a well-known Southland livestock agent. From as far back as he can remember, Ben was constantly in and around the saleyards, developing a strong interest in the...

Scheme has put 1.9 million lambs and 270,000 cattle onto New Zealand farms since 2016 Inverness is a 1600 hectare extensive sheep and beef property on the rolling Cheviot hills. Carrying 9300 stock units, Inverness uses Go-Stock, an innovative solution for the on-farm cash flow challenges that can...

Purchasers react favourably after Covid-related capacity shortfalls overcome North Island livestock sales through April remained at exceptional levels. Earlier concern around stocking rates potentially under pressure due to a backlog of prime stock still on farm, delayed with processors beset by...