News

Less positive economic factors offset good weather conditions Mild South Island weather coupled with plenty of rain has provided good soil moisture levels, setting farmers up for a promising spring. During July and August, the quietest time of the year in the saleyards, small yardings of both sheep...

Softening lamb market and dairy payout influencing market sentiment During the calving and lambing seasons trade in livestock generally enters a hiatus period. Factors facing farmers and the sector as a whole include a softening lamb market, largely due to China’s market forces, with a similar story...

Co-operation stands to benefit both sectors Several largely unrelated factors could work well together to meet the different needs of two separate farming sectors as the service bull season approaches. Land use change from farming to forestry has reduced the national beef herd in recent years...

The bull season is drawing to a close and it has been a bit of a rollercoaster ride, according to National Genetics Manager for PGG Wrightson, Callum Stewart. In the beginning, it was tough and it didn’t seem as though it was going to get any better, Stewart told The Country’s Rowena Duncum. “We...

PGG Wrightson's CEO, Stephen Guerin was at Fieldays and caught up Jamie Mackay from The Country to shed light on the profound impact of the company's continued support of the IHC Calf and Rural scheme. The discussion centred around the significance of this partnership to PGG Wrightson and our...

Quality is still in demand, though sale catalogues trimmed We are now well into this year’s bull sale season as 130 studs nationwide put their best two-year-old bulls forward at auction, private sales and paddock selections. Based on the number of sheep and beef farms going to forestry recently...

Feed rich conditions support solid values Good quality, well-bred sheep and cattle are selling at solid values across all North Island regions where, despite some colder snaps and higher than average rainfall through some regions, feed rich conditions predominate. Indicators for sheep and beef...

Favourable conditions lift demand for cattle and sheep An exceptional autumn across the South Island has the country looking superb and farmers seeking to make the most of generous feed reserves. Such favourable conditions have resulted in a big lift in demand for cattle and sheep, both on paddock...

Options available with potential dairy sector cashflow restriction A sizeable proportion of those in the dairy sector go through immense upheaval on Moving Day, and this year was no different with large numbers of workers, farmers and sharemilkers having to plan, shift and settle in before, on and...

Growth of online platform points way forward for buyer-seller engagement With bidr now operating weekly at 10 saleyards across the country, and becoming more of a focal point in livestock sales, buyers and sellers are finding more sophisticated ways to take advantage of the online livestock sales...

PGG Wrightson livestock tool eases cashflow and opens fast track to farm ownership Connor and Sephrah Edwards farm in Wellsford north of Auckland. They plan to achieve farm ownership within the next five years. PGG Wrightson’s GO-STOCK is an essential part of how they are going to do it. As Connor...

A farmer and well-being professional advises how to manage winter farming stress For those of us in dairy, calving starts soon, while for many of our friends and colleagues, lambing is not too far away. Today in farming well-being matters more than ever, and with the stress that the calving and...

Committed to giving an honest opinion Manawatu local Andrew Leggett has been a PGG Wrightson Livestock representative based in Feilding since March 2018. Along with his family he has shifted to Northland, and later this month will resume his role with the company, now operating out of Whangarei...

Planning ahead for success in farming Tom Dobson is a PGG Wrightson trainee livestock representative based in Canterbury. Growing up in Christchurch, Tom’s links to farming are through his father’s rural sector focused service business. “Spending most of my school holidays working on farms, and with...

Shane Gerken, South Island Livestock Manager for PGG Wrightson and Jamie Mackay from The Country had a recent chat around Pink Week, the IHC calf and rural scheme. Pink Week is now celebrating a 41-year association with PGG Wrightson. Now the team at PGG Wrightson is encouraging farmers to buy a PEL...

Rural people living with intellectual disabilities and their families will receive a welcome boost of support this week as PGG Wrightson gears up to celebrate the 41 st anniversary of the IHC Calf and Rural Scheme. Pink Week, which runs from June 2 – June 9, aims to raise awareness of the rural...

Jamie Mackay from The Country recently touched base with Grant Nordstrom, Canterbury-West Coast Livestock Manager for PGG Wrightson. First topic for discussion was the calf selling season with North Island sales going well. Grant confirmed that as the season's gone on, the market has got stronger as...

Stock with the right genetics, raised on a meticulously applied feed regime, will result in beef carcases with the intramuscular fat (IMF) that consumers demand. Diners choose beef for the flavour, smell and feel when they are eating a premium cut. While multiple factors are necessary to produce...