NewsBank (West Coast Farming Times, The)

The FMG grand final of the Young Farmer of the Year is set to be a highly competitive event for Buller brothers Peter and Nick O'Connor, hailing from a dairy farm at Virgin Flat, Cape Foulwind.

A clever blend of old and new could be the key to success for the latest iteration of the Suzuki S-Cross compact SUV, something its predecessor, as competent as it was, never enjoyed.

It was a very good natured, gumbooted, jacket and shorts crowd that came together at the Ahaura Domain for the weigh in for the Ahaura Hunting and Fishing Competition at Easter.

up in Temuka in Canterbury before spending two years touring the UK and the Continent with friends.

sling and into the sea at Bruce Bay and Jackson Bay - not always successfully.

Fish and Game New Zealand is putting more thought, eff ort and technology into providing anglers with information about accessing rivers and lakes.

The oldest resident of Fox Glacier took a job at the hotel, married, and went to live at the Williams Homestead. But before understanding the current farming operation, you have to go back, to the early days of the goldrush.

The West Coast rural market is not immune to the rise in interest rates and on farm inflation which is putting the squeeze on returns for farmers and growers in the current season.

With climate change and long periods of dry weather experienced on the West Coast as a result of El Nino, more farmers are looking at alternative water supplies.

For most wells, resource consents are not currently required, however formal water resource consent applications and water permit applications to take ground water must be made for water for public use, or if the total take exceeds two litres per second or more than 50,000 litres per day." When drilling, Ken operates a belted track Marooker which weighs 21 tons and can handle all terrains.

and food often cost twice as much at Gillespie's as it did at Okarito, 24 miles north. As Thomas Condon Senior, the last surviving pupil of the school, once said:

The major winners in the 2023 West Coast/Top of the South Dairy Industry Awards say being caretakers of the land is a pretty special job to have and are proud to be part of a food-producing nation.

Volkswagen had injected some 'hot hatch' fire power borrowed from the legendary Golf 'R' hatch into its top selling SUV Tiguan - but is it the real performance SUV?

West Coast maize and sweetcorn growers are urged to be on the lookout for newly arrived tropical insect pest fall armyworm which can cause economic as well as physical damage to crops if not found early.

Wednesday, January 25 was yet another day of hot, dry weather, and the animals awaiting sale at the Ross yards were restless, as were stock agents, Robbie Lash and his boss, Barry Fox, the day's auctioneer.

If you want a chicken, you might want to head to Paroa. For on Rutherglen Road, a shop stocks anything the lifestyle block owner may need, run by an owner with a colourful past.

The risk of toxic honey - causing delirium to coma or death - could increase in the South if climate change helps to introduce new insects to the region, a long-time commercial beekeeper says.

Negative sentiment among rural real estate buyers has seen PGG Wrightson's half year profit dip from the record high reported last year as the company warns of a challenging year for the agriculture sector.

Stock truck driver, Barry Thomson, well known throughout the Coast, drove for 51 years, following in his father's footsteps. He married Anne Marie 48 years ago and they had two daughters and five grand daughters. He was devastated when she was diagnosed with cancer and died 14 days later, mid-way through 2022.

"I grew up at Ikamatua, on the family farm at Mossy Creek where we had about 1000 ewes and I learned to shear sheep, that was about 40 years ago.

Finally, we have a hybrid version of Hyundai's popular compact Kona SUV, begging the question - why has it taken so long?

Basil, an eager Jack Russell, bounds out of the car for the second time that day. Basil is with its master, Chris, again checking up on his Fern Valley Fresh's Rapahoe lettuce farm.

Access to rivers is at the heart of many West Coasters' identities. So, we are working closely with the Department of Conservation (DOC) to protect that right as it reclassifies its stewardship land.

February

E nglish farm machinery operators are travelling to the south to bridge a "dire" staff shortage, agricultural contractors say.

At 120m long and 45m wide, Matt and Carmel O'Regan's new 'cow barn' at The Landing, near Inangahua, is bigger than a rugby field.

NZ Wagyu started off in 2015, looking to put a premium product on restaurant tables and add value to the farmer supply chain.

While the replacement dairy herd is important, the extra calves that keep the milk flowing will now have a purpose.

T oyota is going full throttle on hybrid or self-charging electric vehicles, in a concerted drive by the company to reduce their carbon footprint.

Dairy farmer candidates Tracy Brown and Chris Lewis were elected to Dairy NZ's board at its annual general meeting in Invercargill late last month.