News

In-fawn hinds from Altrive Red Deer, Riversdale continue to prove the benefits of bidr to find buyers for premium bloodlines. A Southland deer stud, the first in the country to use bidr, is preparing for its eighth annual in-fawn winter hind sale on New Zealand’s virtual saleyard. Altrive Red Deer...

Interest rates, returns and renewed bank enthusiasm boost sector and stimulate activity on dairying’s biggest day. This year’s Moving Day, the start of the new dairy season and one of the most important on the rural calendar, was one of the busiest for several years. Reduced interest rates, strong...

Rob Wards still knows the old building on Bennetts Road like the back of his hand. It sits a few kilometres east of Roxburgh township and has been part of the district’s horticultural backbone for decades - long before modern supply chains and forklifts, it was used as a storage point for fruit...

Rachel Shearer, General Manager of PGW Wool, speaks with Jamie Mackay from The Country on market momentum, natural fibres, and the outlook for sheep farming. Strong wool’s upward momentum continues, with the latest national wool sale delivering another significant lift and reinforcing growing...

Strong outlooks in dairy and horticulture, alongside generational change in the sector, are supporting continued activity in New Zealand’s rural property market. PGG Wrightson general manager of livestock and real estate, Peter Newbold, said succession was top of mind for many in the sector. “If you...

Farming close to the consumer Hamish Best and his partner Caroline Flood run Conscious Valley just eight kilometres from Wellington's CBD. That proximity isn't incidental. It's central to how they've built their business, supplying locally grown beef and lamb direct to some of the city's best...

When Nigel Thorpe started work with Dalgety NZ Ltd in Greymouth on February 15, 1982, his first job was sweeping floors out the back of the store as an office junior. Present day, and nearly 45 years later, Nigel is the National Livestock Supply Chain Manager for PGG Wrightson and is now looking...

The autumn bull sales have kicked off this week with a lot of interest in beef, but can last year’s record price of $161,000 for an Angus bull be topped? PGG Wrightson’s National Genetics Manager, Callum McDonald, reckons that’s “the million-dollar question” - but never say never. “With the beef...

After a sustained period of growth, the wool market has continued to hold at significantly improved levels through recent sales. Strong competition and tightening supply are supporting confidence across the sector, with prices paid in the auction room the highest they have been since 2011. The move...

A Clyde Primary School project may have launched a future career for seven-year-old student Beau A’Court, as he has become one of New Zealand’s youngest wool clients of PGW - after recently discovering a passion for the fibre and finding an unlikely mentor in wool representative Graeme Bell...

The recent annual Marlborough Merino Association two-tooth ewe competition and stud tour drew a strong crowd of growers and proved to be a great success - with around 50 to 60 people attending each day. Held across March 19th and 20th, the group visited 10 Marlborough merino properties, inspecting...

For Jack Fagan, winning the PGG Wrightson / Vetmed National Shearing Circuit wasn’t just a moment of glory, it was the result of a 15-year journey built on grit, discipline, world travel, and a love of life on the land. Now 33, Jack has been shearing since he left school, carving out a career that...

It was a bit of a culture shock for 17-year-old country boy Geoffrey Keys when he moved to the bright lights of Dunedin in 1977. He’d spent his whole life in the inland rural settlement of Lauder in Central Otago, only going down to the big city maybe once a year for new clothes and other supplies...

New animal welfare training for the wool industry is now available nationwide, offering practical, industry-led guidance for anyone handling sheep in and around the woolshed. The programme, delivered by Elite Wool Industry Training, combines online learning and in-person practical courses designed...

The Ahuwhenua Trophy recognises excellence in Māori farming and growing, rotating between dairy, sheep and beef, and horticulture over three years. This year's competition was for horticulture, with Fruitfed Supplies sponsoring this year’s competition. Each year, finalists host a field day to show...

How to save time and fuel by using New Zealand’s virtual saleyard to buy stock. Farmers in remote districts are taking particular advantage of bidr to save time and fuel. A PGG Wrightson Livestock sheep, beef and dairy representative based in Taumarunui, Marty Cashin works with numerous clients in...

Making opportunities and creating growth. Opportunity is a recurring theme in the near 40-year career of Tom Mowat: opportunities he’s taken, and opportunities he’s created for others. Coming back to a role he previously held between 2015 and 2018, Tom was recently re-appointed as PGG Wrightson...

Substantial support for premium dairy genetics, and rising cow price through forward herd sales underscore sector positivity. Confidence in dairy is strong. Despite some falls in Global Dairy Trade auctions during April, and ongoing geopolitical uncertainty, Fonterra recently lifted its 2025/26...