News

From a partnership spanning 85 years to a milestone 175th anniversary, Stern Angus provides the perfect backdrop for a special live broadcast of The Country. On 7 October, PGG Wrightson will mark a significant milestone, celebrating 175 years of supporting New Zealand farmers and rural communities...

With traits to counter FE and worms, Marlow Genetics is preparing a sale catalogue with 30 Romworths and 50 Coopworth rams After 57 years, a prominent Central Hawke’s Bay stud is holding its first ever on farm ram sale. Along with his wife Rosa, in 2023 Jason Wyn-Harris took over Marlow Genetics...

Yearling bulls, calves, lambs and hoggets all meeting demand at North Island saleyards, while prolonged cold and wet delays the growing season in the South Variable weather conditions throughout the country have impacted throughput at the saleyards and the mood among farmers, with positive or...

Canterbury based trainee livestock rep Aston Fitzgerald is proving you don’t need to grow up on a farm to build a successful career in agriculture. For Aston Fitzgerald, a career in agriculture was never going to be spent behind a desk. Now 16 months into his role as a Trainee Sheep & Beef Livestock...

After a challenging period, demand set to lift as economies of New Zealand’s two main markets tick up Ahead of the upcoming selling season, prospects for velvet have improved. In early September PGG Wrightson National Deer and Velvet Manager Tony Cochrane visited the two main markets for New Zealand...

North Island demand up by 10 per cent on last year with values increasing by $30 per head This season’s sales of North Island four-day old calves have significantly exceeded where they sat last year. Fewer bobbies, better genetics, and better beef calves are attracting premiums from rearers and...

Strategic approach to ram procurement will pay dividends as farmers take the opportunity to re-invest in carefully selected genetics Ram sale season starts in late October, running through until mid-December in the North Island, and until mid-February in the South Island. Last season saw plenty of...

Set in steep hill country inland from Gisborne, Tangihau Station is defined by scale, terrain, and climatic extremes. The property spans more than 6,600 hectares of medium to steep East Coast hill country, with only 70 hectares of flat land. Tangihau runs approximately 1,300 commercial breeding cows...

As dairy farmers prepare for the busy spring mating period, managing cash flow remains a key consideration alongside securing quality service bulls. PGG Wrightson National Dairy Specialist Jamie Cunninghame says the company's long-running Defer-A-Bull programme continues to provide farmers with...

Pre-lambing sale, mainly of heading dogs, averages just below $6000 and is set to become an annual event A recent working dog sale, organised in Balclutha ahead of lambing, attracted so much interest that it is now set to become an annual event. Russell Moloney, PGG Wrightson South Otago area...

Forty-eight-year Angus and Simmental breeding programme brings forth genetics that survive and thrive on North Island east coast One of the top Wairarapa beef studs, McFadzean Cattle Company, is preparing to host an on-farm sale of its best yearling bulls. PGG Wrightson Livestock Wairarapa sheep and...

New Zealand half marathon walk champion and livestock support officer, enjoying a job that is ‘one of the most scenic in the world’ Luana Pentecost is a New Zealand champion. Luana won the half marathon walk in her age group at the Masters Games in Dunedin in February this year, completing the 21.1...

Combined effort encompasses businesses, farmers, and the wider rural community to focus generosity on Cancer Society and Arohanui Hospice Extending a tradition that has evolved in the region in recent years, while also honouring a late colleague, PGG Wrightson Livestock’s Manawatū team last month...

Generous returns drive prime cattle through sales, while yardings of store cattle sit relatively high Despite the traditional winter hiatus, on relatively low numbers, values through Mid and South Canterbury livestock markets are strong. Generous returns based on current schedules are driving a...

Dependability and cashflow ease persuade Manawatū dairy farmer to come back year on year One Manawatū dairy farmer swears by Defer-A-Bull. Ben McKelvie owns two Oroua Downs dairy farms, one milking 250 cows once a day and the other milking 600 twice a day. Both calve in spring. For the past eight...

Strong beef returns and growing demand for beef genetics are helping drive confidence ahead of New Zealand's spring yearling bull sale season, with around 60 sales scheduled nationwide between late August and October. PGG Wrightson Livestock National Genetics Manager Callum McDonald says the...

Ongoing demand for red meat while winter feed availability prompts farmers to hold onto prime lambs pushing returns and stoking optimism. Throughout the country livestock markets are well into winter mode. Calving is under way in most districts, while lambing is set to start soon. With mild...

Starting late August, around 60 sales nationwide will again gauge the health of red meat sector as farmers reinvest in genetic base After the record breaking two-year-old bull sales season that concluded early in the winter, yearling bulls will take their turn in sale arenas in late August...