News

Rowena asked about a recent North Island wool auction in Napier. Rob says it was an interesting day with about seven thousand bales offered, mainly second shear wool as seen in the North Island, all good colour wool, drawn from right across the Island apart from the far north. The Market could be...

Nathan Stratford, of Invercargill, shearing for New Zealand against Australia at historic sheep station Errowanbang, NSW, in 2014. He is expected to make his 15th Trans-Tasman test match appearance in Bendigo, Vic., in October. Photo / SSNZ A Trans-Tasman shearing competition which dates back 48...

Lloyd Rees (right) and health and fitness coach and trainer Matt Luxton, after Rees' British-breeds record of 902 lambs in nine hours in Wales on Friday 19 August. Photo / Supplied A big challenge has been thrown out to New Zealand’s fastest shearers after the shattering of a British breeds record...

New Zealand blades shearers Tony Dobbs (left) and Allan Oldfield after their historic triumph at the 2019 World shearing and woolhandling championships in France, where Oldfield won the individual title and the pair the teams title. Photo / SSNZ A mixture of title and selection series’ winners will...

The big question at the moment is: How much is your farm worth? Jamie Mackay asked the man who should know about these things - Peter Newbold, General Manager of PGG Wrightson Real Estate. Jamie contends that farm prices are being underpinned by forestry/carbon farming. Peter agrees with this...

Group Performance PGG Wrightson Limited* (PGW) today announced its results for the financial year ended 30 June 2022. Key highlights of the financial year to 30 June 2022 included: Operating EBITDA** of $67.2 million (up $11.1 million or 20%) Net profit after tax of $24.3 million (up $1.6 million or...

Jamie Mackay from The Country took his monthly survey of the rural livestock market, getting the inside story from Joe Higgins, Mid South Canterbury Livestock Manager for PGG Wrightson. The big topic is rainfall. Has it stopped yet? Joe confirms that it has - a beautiful, clear, frosty day in...

With the first wool sales under our belt into the new wool season, good premiums are on offer for well grown and better prepared pre-lamb fleece of good colour, sound and low VM (less than 0.3 per cent) crossbred wool. Please contact your local wool representative to discuss best practice...

Jared Manihera is never far from wool. “I grew up in Masterton where my parents were shearing contractors for 25 years. I left school at 15, though Dad banned me from going into the sheds until I turned 16, so I stacked shelves at Woolworths for six months,” he says. He worked as a shearer for the...

In 2018 Blair Vining, from Winton, Southland was diagnosed with terminal bowel cancer that had spread to his liver and lungs. He believed that better healthcare could have saved his life. Before he died, Blair campaigned for a national cancer agency, starting a petition that was backed by 140,000...

Kaiwaka Clothing was established in 1975 by Ross Stewart. Ross was a fifth generation local farmer in the small Northland settlement, so he understood what it means to work outdoors, which is reflected in the clothing the company produces. Nearly five decades later Ross’s sons and grandsons have a...

When North Canterbury farming couple Greg and Lois Newell were planning to build their new house they were determined to use as much wool as possible. Greg and Lois have leased a 300 hectare North Loburn property since 1992, and purchased 80 hectares of it in 2009, partly with a mind to build. They...

Wool in Schools is a PGG Wrightson sponsored initiative to educate and inspire kiwi children about the wonders of wool. Established in 2015 and comprising converted shipping containers that travel the country visiting schools and sharing knowledge about our fibre, Wool in Schools will shortly pass...

Although Kurt Houghton started building around 20 years ago, he and his wife Alisa also farm the 427 hectare Aria, Waitomo property that has been in the Houghton family since 1905. As a sheep farmer, and a builder, Kurt is strongly motivated to put as much wool as possible in the local houses he...

Based on initial results from the first few auctions of the 2022/23 wool sale season, demand and confidence has lifted. When better style pre-lamb crossbred wools have come forward to the auction room, the market has responded with enthusiasm, resulting in prices appreciably above comparable levels...

University of Waikato Master’s student, Cathleen Schriber-Hannah, is on a mission to understand how the coping strategies and unwinding activities of NZ farmers impact stress and wellbeing. Growing up on her parent’s farm in Te Aroha, Cathleen knows firsthand the impact that farmer wellbeing can...

The big question is how much of a premium can you get if you go organic? Palle says PGG Wrightson is probably the only organic wool exporter in the country. They've been working on organics for probably ten years and have a good customer in the US manufacturing bedding. They're currently offering $5...

Jamie Mackay from The Country has had his monthly chat with Peter Newbold, GM of real estate at PGG Wrightson. We all know winter's here - but is it the off-season for real estate sales? Peter says it's an interesting time. They've just come off a high with strong trading and they're now in...