Category: Country

Source: Radio New Zealand

A rural transport company carting stock to the meat works couldn’t get the fuel it needed at two North Island commercial truck stops.

Pumps ran dry in Wairoa and Eltham on Thursday when the Stephenson Transport truck and trailer units from Central Hawke’s Bay were on a freezing works run.

Owner Bruce Stephenson said it’s a situation he’s never faced during his seven decades in the business.

“We had stock trucks on the road obviously all over the place. We couldn’t get fuel in Wairoa and we couldn’t get fuel in Eltham,” he said.

“They were loaded with stock heading to the works, so we had to stretch things out a bit – it gets a bit tricky when you’re doing that sort of thing.”

He fielded phone calls from his concerned drivers wondering what to do next.

“I’m talking about truck stops where we fuel up and where we get our contract prices from. That’s where access is relatively easy for a big truck and trailers with crates on.”

“So we had to go to service stations and find one we could get under the canopy of.”

Danniverke Carriers owner Nigel Castles is also coping with the swiftly evolving situation.

His company also carts stock around the country and he’s concerned about the massive spike in prices.

And his family-owned business can’t absorb the soaring fuel prices alone.

He’s reluctantly passing these increases on to farmers and estimates his fuel bill is up 20 percent from the start of the year.

The company filled its tanks last week, and he hopes the next delivery will arrive in a week.

With no signs of tensions easing in the Middle East, he expects further price rises for fuel are inevitable.

“The next lot of fuel supply is actually going to go up again,” he said.

“Definitely out on farm there’s a lot of worry, and as transporters we certainly don’t want to come to a grinding halt either.”

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– Published by EveningReport.nz and AsiaPacificReport.nz, see: MIL OSI in partnership with Radio New Zealand

Source: Radio New Zealand

The cost of running a farm in New Zealand is more than a quarter higher than it was before the Covid pandemic.

ANZ’s latest Agri Insights report, which analysed financial performance across more than 4000 dairy, red meat, kiwifruit, arable and pipfruit customers over five years, found farm operating costs across the board were 27 percent higher than before Covid.

This was driven largely by increased labour and input costs like fertiliser, and on-farm cost inflation becoming structural.

The gap between average farms and the top performers continued to widen, pointing to significant untapped productivity potential, with leading operators consistently generating materially higher earnings per hectare through system optimisation rather than expansion.

The report’s co-author and ANZ’s head of strategy and execution – business and agri Marcus Bousefield said it showed farms must lift productivity just to stand still.

“Really everything is up on that pre-Covid area in terms of costs. We’ve seen it as a structural shift as opposed to just being inflationary and moving with the inflation cycle.”

Despite having the largest cost increases – which was reflective of their labour-intensive nature and impacts of wage pressures during and after the pandemic – the report found both dairy and kiwifruit had some of the strong returns.

Total kiwifruit farm income rose 59 percent driven by the maturing of post-PSA plantings and higher orchard productivity, while dairy also saw higher earnings per hectare achieved through improved milk production per cow and better herd performance, rather than expansion.

Red meat farms had modest income growth, with a wide gap between top-performing operators who earned about 80 percent more per hectare than poorer-performing counterparts.

Pipfruit faced the most challenges, including labour shortages and multiple weather events.

Bousefield said the report showed the strongest performances were linked to reinvestment and commitment to improving productivity.

“You can look to the singular price in commodity prices being a key leader of performance but that is always outside of farmers’ control.

“It’s really the sum of the parts of all the other components that drive the topline revenue piece that has a bigger bearer on what we saw as performance of the top 25 percent.”

Bousefield said this included factors like the execution of buying and selling, crop management and animal efficiency, particularly in the dairy sector.

He said farming was multi-generational industry where decisions made today would pay off in later years. He said it was at a junction point where stronger markets, coupled with agritech advances provided opportunity to improve efficiencies on farm.

Bousefield cautioned that conflict in the Middle East would continue to create global uncertainty in the shorter term.

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– Published by EveningReport.nz and AsiaPacificReport.nz, see: MIL OSI in partnership with Radio New Zealand

Source: Radio New Zealand

Shoppers will take another hit when the impact of the Iran war hits the supermarket shelves, a Foodstuffs boss says.

Households have already been feeling the pressure over the last year as shown by the release of new Stats NZ data.

Prices were up 4.5 percent on an annual basis in February, with mince up 23.2 percent, and sirloin steak 21.5 percent.

There have been warnings that the cost of food may rise further as producer and transportation costs increase, due to the Middle East conflict.

Foodstuffs North Island chief executive Chris Quin said before the Middle East war, two factors were driving prices up despite a drop in inflation.

New Zealand lived in a global economy and when export prices were strong, such as for red meat and fish, Kiwis had to pay more for them.

As well, bad weather hit fruit and vegetable growing.

Retail grocery prices went up around 3.7 percent, he said, which was lower than the overall 4.5 percent announced yesterday.

Supermarkets tried not to pass on all their costs and to manage their costs as efficiently as possible.

Asked if supermarkets were taking the same margin as a year ago, he said they were or were taking even less.

Regarding the Iran war, suppliers were talking about the pressure they were were under but it had not impacted on prices so far.

The cost of diesel was of particular concern both for transport and the impact it had on plastic products.

“It is unclear at this point how much of an impact it will have but it’s going to be very hard to suppress that impact depending on how long it lasts as well.”

The impact of the war was still to be felt on supermarket shelves.

“It’s a live conversation now but it’s not showing up on prices so far.”

There was no concern about getting supply as goods didn’t travel through the Strait of Hormuz, Quin said.

“It is unclear at this point how much of an impact it’s going to have.”

Quin expected that if there was fuel rationing the supermarket sector would be a priority.

He was happy with discussions underway with the government.

Domestic food production a priority

The flow-on effects from the conflict in Iran are being felt by farmers.

Fuel prices are up, and the Middle East is also a major player in fertiliser trade, producing about 40 percent of the world’s nitrogen fertilisers.

That’s a double hit for arable farmers, who rely on fertiliser to grow crops and diesel to run their machinery.

Federated Farmers arable chairperson David Birkett said without a doubt food prices would increase due to the conflict’s impact.

Higher costs of processing and transport were the two key factors, he told Morning Report.

If there was to be any rationing of diesel, farmers should be among those on the priority list.

“Domestic food production should be given some level of prioritisation when it comes to fuel.”

The arable sector was the biggest user of diesel, Birkett said. Harvesting was almost finished and crops would then be resown.

“The diesel price has affected us straight away, which is quite interesting given that the government says we have six weeks’ supply on hand.

“Yet the price goes up instantaneous when the war starts so there’s obviously some cost recovery being done there from the fuel companies I’d imagine.”

If diesel was rationed, that would be “a real challenge” for farmers, especially arable farmers who needed to use machinery.

The two main fertiliser cooperatives have indicated they already have supply to last through autumn which meant settled prices for “a little bit”, Birkett said.

However, for the peak demand time of spring, farmers were already concerned about both supply and price.

He did not expect prices to rise as high as the pandemic when prices doubled after all production stopped.

“Time will tell I guess.”

– Published by EveningReport.nz and AsiaPacificReport.nz, see: MIL OSI in partnership with Radio New Zealand

Source: Radio New Zealand

A growing middle class enjoying products like cakes and iced-teas in China is seeing demand for New Zealand cream surge.

Fonterra is building a new UHT cream factory at its Southland Edendale site – which when complete later this year will produce 50 million litres of cream annually.

The co-ops chief executive of greater China Teh-han Chow has been visiting the plant this week to check on progress.

“It’s looking fabulous, it’s a really important site for us and it’s a really important investment for the food service business.

“We’re investing nearly $150 million in a facility that’s going to create a lot more UHT cream, it complements our existing facility in Waitoa.”

Chow said demand for cream is particularly strong in China but sales are up across the Asia region – so the plant has been designed to increase production if needed.

“Cream is in cakes, that’s very popular and it’s also being used in tea macchiatos a iced tea drink.”

He said demand is up as China’s growing middle class spends more on high quality food products.

“If you look at all the base fundamentals, you’ve got increasing urbanisation, increasing middle class and you’ve got consumers that are waiting higher quality products.

“In western markets we’ve seen a move from animal fat based diets to plant based – in Asia it’s the opposite, people want to move from a plant-based diet to a dairy based one because it’s seen as better, healthier and more nutritious.”

China’s economy has been struggling in recent years and it’s government recently lowered it’s GDP growth target to between 4.5 and 5 percent – the lowest since the 1990s.

But Teh-han Chow is upbeat – he said on the ground the cities are bustling.

“While growth is down, it’s still a good number so I think demand for New Zealand dairy products will continue to grow.”

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– Published by EveningReport.nz and AsiaPacificReport.nz, see: MIL OSI in partnership with Radio New Zealand

Source: Radio New Zealand

Wattie’s New Zealand’s proposal to stop producing frozen vegetables is expected to impact the country’s already-hurting vegetable growers and seed producers.

The seed industry was taking stock of what last week’s announcement by one of the country’s largest food producers, would mean for growers.

A well-known packet of Wattie’s frozen mixed vegetables of peas, carrots and corn for example, perhaps no more under new proposals.

Phased closures were also being proposed at its food factories in Auckland, Dunedin, Christchurch and its packing facility in Hastings.

Around 350 mostly full-time roles would be impacted, including vegetable growers – around 220 of them in Canterbury alone.

Heinz Wattie’s previously said the decision was not taken lightly, but was a necessary step to position the company for the future.

Industry group Seed and Grain New Zealand chief executive, Sarah Clark said if Wattie’s stopped contracting vegetables from the region, farmers would lose income from both the crop and the seed.

“The Wattie’s proposal is a really big blow for the arable sector as a whole,” she said.

“Several of our members supply pea seeds for sowing to Wattie’s, so the direct impact to our members, the seed companies, of their proposal is that there’ll be less demand for pea seed, and that in turn means fewer contracts for the farmers, the people who are growing those pea seed crops.”

Clark said the decision was “probably a kick in the guts” for growers, after such a tough season marred by wet weather causing root disease.

She said this was worsened by the rapidly increasing cost of fuel and fertiliser, due to the war in the Middle East.

“The sector’s having a tough time anyway.”

Clark said there were other pea varieties farmers could incorporate into their crop rotation to plug the pea gap.

“Farmers will be hit with a difficult decision about how they maintain their other crop rotations, without either the fresh pea crop that they had growing peas for Wattie’s or the crop of peas for seed production.

“So yeah, it’s a bit of a double whammy for the farmers, unfortunately.”

Growers facing uncertainty

Key vegetable growing region Canterbury was also a seed powerhouse, producing more than half the world’s supply of hybrid radish and 40 percent of the global carrot seed supply, exporting to more than 60 countries.

Horticulture New Zealand chief executive Kate Scott said growers supplying Wattie’s now faced a great deal of uncertainty.

“This is tough news for the New Zealand vegetable sector and for the consumers who rely on locally grown and processed food,” she said.

“While we recognise this is a decision made within a global business, the consequences are very real here at home.”

Scott said growers could not keep producing crops without reliable markets for them, which over time would result in fewer vegetables being grown and processed in New Zealand.

“That would be a concerning direction for New Zealand. In a world where supply chains are increasingly disrupted and freight costs fluctuate; it makes sense to maintain strong domestic food production.”

Consultation on Wattie’s proposals will close next Wednesday on March 25th.

New proposals follow earlier cuts to crops

The company owned by American food giant Kraft Heinz decided to slash some of its crop intake following a review last year, impacting canned peach production, and corn, beetroot, tomatoes.

In recent years, the company made complaints about reports of cheaper imports being dumped into the New Zealand market to the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment (MBIE).

MBIE carried out a number of investigations over the past decade into dumping claims of various products, including peach products from countries like Greece, Spain, South Africa and China, and potato fries.

Investigations could result in duties being applied, which happened for preserved peaches from Spain in 2022 and canned peaches from Greece in 2021, among others.

Owner Kraft Heinz also recently rolled back earlier proposals to split up the business, which it told RNZ in September was unrelated to the decision to reduce peach production.

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– Published by EveningReport.nz and AsiaPacificReport.nz, see: MIL OSI in partnership with Radio New Zealand

Source: Radio New Zealand

Fonterra chief executive Miles Hurrell has announced he is leaving the dairy co-op after 25 years.

Appointed the chief executive officer in 2018, he was tasked with leading a reset of the business to turn around Fonterra’s financial performance and rebuild farmers’ trust.

Hurrell said while it’s not an easy decision to step away, the time is right for the Co-op and him personally.

“When I took the role of CEO, I understood our financial results are not just numbers but the livelihood of thousands of New Zealand farming families,” he said.

“I have always felt a great sense of responsibility to do what’s right for farmers and I believe the Co-op is now in a really good place.”

Hurrell said Fonterra is entering the next phase in in it’s strategic implementation which marks a natural turning point for a new leader to step in.

The co-ops sale of its consumer brands to French dairy giant Lactalis went unconditional earlier this month

“I know that the business will be in good hands. There’s an exceptional team of people who will carry the Co-op forward and continue to drive value for farmers,” Hurrell said.

Fonterra board chair Peter McBride said Miles has a six month notice period, which enables an organised leadership transition.

“Board and management regularly discuss succession as part of good governance practices. We are confident we can run a robust selection process and appoint a new CEO in the coming months.”

He said he echos the sentiment of farmers when saying that Miles will leave with sincere thanks for his 25 years of loyalty and best wishes for the future

“Under Miles’ leadership the team has done that and more. From day one, Miles was able to unite the team under a single purpose and drive performance right across the business, setting the Co-op up for the future,” McBride said.

“On behalf of the Board, I thank Miles for his courageous leadership. He has overseen a significant strategic reset, focused on getting the Co-op back to its core strengths. In doing so he has helped lift Fonterra’s financial discipline and built the strong foundations the Co-op has today.”

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– Published by EveningReport.nz and AsiaPacificReport.nz, see: MIL OSI in partnership with Radio New Zealand

Source: Radio New Zealand

With a seven, five, and one-year-old at home, and another baby on the way, life can be quite chaotic for Shepherdess founder Kristy McGregor. Living rurally on a beef and dairy farm in Horowhenua adds another layer.

It was that and a desire to connect rural women and provide a sense of community that saw her launch the Shepherdess Muster – a rural women’s retreat – first in the remote settlement of Motu in Tai Rāwhiti two years ago and most recently in Tokanui at the bottom of the South Island.

“The Muster is about just taking time for yourself and doing something for yourself,” she told Country Life.

“What you get when you come here is just a chance to have a go, have good food, have food cooked for you. When did you last get a meal made for you?”

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As McGregor explained, the Muster was a chance for rural women to choose for themselves.

“The Shepherdess Muster is three days of women coming together in a rural or remote spot and a weekend of arts, health and well-being and entrepreneurship, business development. Really just spending time together and connecting and taking a moment for yourself.”

The first event to be held in the South Island, the Muster attracted more than 200 women from around the motu to the Tokanui Rugby Club for a weekend of camping, fun and celebrating International Women’s Day.

While there was a wide range of activities on offer – everything from women’s health check-ups, intimacy workshops, beauty appointments, tattooing, Zumba, yoga and craft sessions – none were compulsory.

Tokanui locals Emma-Kate Rabbidge and Julie Keast were both excited to showcase their slice of paradise after nearly two years of planning as part of the event’s organising committee.

For Keast, who lived a few kilometres away from the rugby club, it was about women coming together for themselves.

“It’s really important that we hold that place for each other, and support each other and have a good time together,” she told Country Life.

Rabbidge, who lived even closer to the grounds with her husband and four children, found it odd camping in a tent down the hill over her own bed.

“But like I’ve said to a few women, you know, as soon as you walk back in the door to your home, you’re the wife and you’re the mum and you’re all the things again.

“This weekend is really about stepping away from that and taking the time out. So, yeah, I’m staying away.”

She hoped that attendees might walk away with a reignited passion for being creative or picking up a new hobby, something they could incorporate into their life back home which could help them build connection and community.

For “Welsh import” Sheila Smith, who also called Tokanui home and helped start the Small Prophet Design Shed, moving to the remote Catlins was an adjustment at first.

“It was a big move from central London. That was a challenge to adjust to the slower pace – one garage, one school, one shop, and one superb design store, Small Profit Design.”

She and two other women who ran the store travelled all through Wanaka, Queenstown, and Otago doing interiors and art and furniture. She said they were passionate about promoting New Zealand-made goods and doing things themselves.

It allowed her to be more than “a farmer’s wife” and provide an outlet for her creative background. Like many rural women she wore many hats – at the Muster over the weekend Smith could also be found leading the Zumba dance sessions and early morning workouts.

She said despite some of the challenges of moving to the “end of the world”, it was one that had taught her a lot and a “good move”.

She was reminded of this the week before, during a recent burst of aurora – she could see the southern lights from her farm, Aurora Downs.

Many of the rural women spoken to by Country Life over the weekend spoke of their gratitude to live, and for some, raise their families, in beautiful parts of the country where there was space to play and potter.

But many also spoke of the time pressures and constant juggle which made it challenging to always appreciate this.

Southland sharemilker Allesha Ballard-Conway came to the Muster alone, hopeful she would make new friends and enjoy “some crafts, good food, good vibes” while trying something new.

Nearing the end of the weekend she said she had met women from all types of places doing different things and this would be her biggest takeaway from the experience.

“We literally just sat down and yarned. It was so lovely just to feel connected to women – just being inspired by all the women.”

Learn more:

• Find out more about the Shepherdess Muster, here
• Find out more about RNZ’s new podcast Far From Town here

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– Published by EveningReport.nz and AsiaPacificReport.nz, see: MIL OSI in partnership with Radio New Zealand

Source: Radio New Zealand

Growers in the Gisborne region have a long-awaited alternative to road transport to get their produce out of the region.

The arrival of a new government-funded top lifter at Eastland Port is ramping up activity ahead of the busy kiwifruit harvest at the port’s harbourside yards.

Chief executive Andrew Gaddum said the company will now compete directly with trucking operators as it increases container volumes through the port.

Traditionally a logging port, it now sees potential to expand into the produce market.

“We haven’t had the gear to move containers around the port, but access to this funding has given us both the alternative to build a bit of resilience for the region. And at the same time, getting exports out of the region on boats, rather than being trucked,” Gaddum said.

“We’re leaning on Zespri pretty heavily to get containers on some of the ships they put through the port, to start making use of this equipment.”

Logging ships headed to China and Korea and charter Zespri ships currently use the port to move bulk kiwifruit in pallets.

“We’re looking to expand that more into the container space,” he said.

“Initially, we’re hoping we’ll see an uptick in volumes out of Kiwifruit.”

The region’s roads have been hammered recently and its expanded operations provide alternatives when the severe weather hits.

It’s estimated around $8 million per day in GDP is lost when State Highway 2 through the Waioeka Gorge between Opotiki and Gisborne is closed.

If the highway is closed for a week, the wider economic impact can exceed $50 million.

The port now has the facilities through its new heavy machinery which arrived within the past three weeks.

The Eastland Port company said there will be more activity to come, with its second berth to open shortly.

The Twin Berth development has been in the pipeline for the past decade, and it will mark a significant milestone with two 180-metre long ships to berth at the same time.

“That’ll be in the next couple of weeks. There’s a bunch of stuff coming together at one time which is exciting for the region,” Gaddum said.

“We’ve had our fair share of knocks, to be honest, but we’re trying to stand things up.

“We’re right at the start of this and we’re working with a bunch of regional exporters and wood processors to see how we can build a base of volume to attract some services into the region.”

Kiwifruit exporter Seeka says it’s now looking to invest further in local fruit handling infrastructure and capacity.

While National MP Dana Kirkpatrick said the investment demonstrates confidence in the region’s infrastructure and export potential.

“We’ve got plans for substantially more than that as we bring the volume on we’ll bring the kit on to meet the volume demand,” she said.

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– Published by EveningReport.nz and AsiaPacificReport.nz, see: MIL OSI in partnership with Radio New Zealand

Source: Radio New Zealand

Big names like Heinz Wattie’s closing their doors are high-profile reminders of the pressure many businesses are under, one economist says.

Heinz Wattie’s announced this week it was planning to close some of its manufacturing operations.

The company said about 350 jobs were expected to be affected.

It outlined plans to axe the sale and production of a number of its products and brands, including frozen vegetables and Gregg’s coffee.

It would also no longer produce dips sold under the Mediterranean, Just Hummus and Good Taste Company brands.

Simplicity chief economist Shamubeel Eaqub said it seemed as though every recession or downturn took with it a big-name business.

In recent years, Cadbury has closed its Dunedin factory, several mills have closed, James Hardie shut its Penrose factory and Unilever closed in Petone.

“[Heinz Wattie’s] sounded like electricity prices and the cost of labour were the things they were really struggling with,” Eaqub said.

“Labour issues have always been a thing for New Zealand manufacturing. We can’t compete with Asian countries that have much lower wages,” Eaqub said.

“More recently, we’ve had the pressure of energy costs from various sources from electricity to gas that have made it harder for some processes. It’s partly because a lot of our manufacturing capacity is aged, so they’re not as efficient and effective as what’s available globally.”

He said big manufacturers and “old school” firms were under pressure, but there were also a lot of small manufacturers doing well.

“Sometimes that is a bit hard to see because they are quite small specialised businesses, not necessarily always visible to the rest of us.”

But he said traditional manufacturing was struggling.

“There’s no denial that the hollowing out is not new. It’s been happening for a number of years. Every time there’s a recession, it feels like we lose another bunch and then it’s smaller again. It happens in waves every time when all these pressures mount, these businesses that have been just managing to scrape by just don’t anymore.”

Business NZ chief executive Katherine Rich said the decisions being made were tough.

“From time to time, businesses do have to make changes and respond to markets and I think that’s what’s happened here. That many of the challenges that that company faced have been faced by a lot of food manufacturers, increased costs, increase in all costs, and of course, changing market conditions.”

Some of the Heinz Wattie’s brands, such as Greggs, had been picked-up by other producers and would continue.

“I think it was really a matter of time. You can’t continue to make really significant losses over many years and expect businesses to keep a footprint here, but it is a challenge. Now, over a period of years, we’ve lost a number of the major fast-moving consumer goods manufacturers,” Rich said.

“You think of the large-scale factories such as Unilever, Colgate, Arnott’s, Cadbury, when it was owned finally by Mondelez. Many of them have made similar decisions to reduce their footprint. I think it’s a factor of globalisation and the fact that this is a very high-cost market to try and manufacture in.”

But Rich said she was still confident about food manufacturing in New Zealand generally.

“If you’re looking at some of our manufacturers who export more in the commodity space, they continue to thrive serving markets in Australia, Asia, and across the globe.”

She said there were also entrepreneurs starting businesses with a good idea and pitching them to supermarkets.

“I’m really confident about the future of food manufacturing generally because we’re such a great place for high-quality ingredients. And we do have a growing market, we’ve got 5 million mouths to feed. But the main thing we have to do is not take our eye off the ball when it comes to trying to reduce the costs of doing business here,” Rich said.

“That’s why the work of the Ministry for Regulation and some of the government reforms to reduce business costs and make it easier to do business here are so important.”

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– Published by EveningReport.nz and AsiaPacificReport.nz, see: MIL OSI in partnership with Radio New Zealand

Source: Radio New Zealand

Tim Garrick could win his third New Zealand Speed Fencing Championship at the Rural Games in Palmerston North this weekend.

The Gisborne fencing contractor competes in the lesser-known sport of speed fencing which he likens to its higher-profile cousin, competition shearing.

With the Golden Shears recently in the spotlight, Garrick said he could only dream of the recognition the top shearers received.

But he was seeing a rising interest in speed fencing.

“I guess in a lot of ways it’s similar to shearing. It’s what the country is built on and it’s quite physical,” Garrick said.

“Especially competitions like the Rural Games where it’s very public and livstreamed. It’s quite cool because a lot of people get to see it and it gets a lot of exposure.”

The sport showcased strength, speed, and precision with competitors racing to build a fence before officials made their final deliberations.

Strong, agile athletes are seen racing around the field carrying posts, and using heavy machinery and wires to construct a fence in less than 15 minutes.

The boring machines are roaring as the competitors dig holes in the ground for heavy posts, set diagonal stays, and string the fence.

Going in as the two-time defending champion, the adrenaline rush would carry him through the competition.

“It’s one of my favourite comps of the the year. You have 10 competitiors whittled down to the three that compete in the final,” said Garrick, who also won the Golden Pliers at Fieldays in 2024.

Garrick had been rushed off his feet recently in the hill country working on sheep and beef farms around the Gisborne region.

The work was flowing freely with farmers putting their rising red meat returns into fences. He was booked solidly for the next six months.

“The biggest influence lately has been the good stock prices, the phone’s been ringing non-stop,” he said.

“Farmers are feeling good about themselves and willing to spend a lot of money.”

And the demand for fencing was so great he had to be “careful” he did not take on more than he could handle.

And as a bonus, his work on the farm kept him in tip top shape for the competition stage.

The Rural Games kick off in Palmerston North this weekend with shearing, timber sports, sheep dog trials and even gumboot throwing.

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– Published by EveningReport.nz and AsiaPacificReport.nz, see: MIL OSI in partnership with Radio New Zealand