11th May 2026 // Rural News in partnership with Farmlands

Government opens door to private nature and carbon market investment New Zealand Dairy Industry Awards celebrate rising talent Yili's NZ operations post record revenue and profit   Rural News is in partnership with Farmlands as part of CountryWide CONNECT with Andy Thompson & Sarah Perriam-Lampp - our daily rural show livestreamed from 11am-1pm. Visit country-wide.co.nz on how to watch / listen.   Government opens door to private nature and carbon market investment Farmers and landowners could soon have new income options under a Government framework designed to grow New Zealand's voluntary nature and carbon markets. Associate Environment Minister Andrew Hoggard says private money is needed to fund restoration work the public purse can't cover — projects like wetland restoration, native planting, habitat protection and carbon sequestration. The new framework gives that market a credibility structure, with an accreditation system he describes as a warrant of fitness for investors and landowners. Two pathways are available. Internationally accredited schemes are recognised immediately, while a domestic endorsement pathway — assessed against New Zealand's market integrity principles — opens within six months. Public conservation land will also be opened to privately funded nature and climate projects, provided they deliver outcomes beyond what the Crown already funds and meet Department of Conservation requirements. For landowners, the practical upside is a clearer, lower-cost way to identify reputable operators and access a growing pool of investors willing to pay for verified environmental outcomes on private land.   New Zealand Dairy Industry Awards celebrate rising talent New Zealand's top dairy talent has been recognised at the 2026 Dairy Industry Awards in Rotorua on Saturday, with more than six-hundred people gathering to celebrate the best in the business. Scott and Stacey Mackereth from Southland took out Share Farmers of the Year, contract milking fourteen-hundred cows on four-hundred-and-sixty-four hectares at Edendale. Head judge Robert Ervine says the couple make a dynamic team — Scott data-driven and managing thirteen staff, Stacey the grounding force holding it all together. Lauren McConnachie from Canterbury/North Otago was named Dairy Manager of the Year, managing twenty-one-hundred-and-seventy cows across five-hundred-and-sixty-three hectares. Judges praised her ability to convert complex farming decisions into clear, simple steps for her team. West Coast's Mark Ready won Dairy Trainee of the Year — already buying his first line of cows and on track for herd ownership at just 23 years old. dairyindustryawards.co.nz has more information on the awards and winners.   Yili's NZ operations post record revenue and profit China's Yili Group has delivered record results from its New Zealand dairy operations, with revenue hitting one-point-five-eight billion dollars in 2025 — up fourteen percent — and pre-tax profit jumping more than three-fold to fifty-eight-point-four million dollars. The Yili Oceania Group credited a strategic shift away from volume toward higher-value products for the strong result. Chief executive Alex Turnbull says the West Coast operation remains an economic cornerstone of the region, and the results will support continued investment in the business and workforce. Expansion is continuing at Hokitika, with a third butter line boosting Westgold output and a second lactoferrin plant now commissioned — making the site one of the largest lactoferrin production facilities in the world.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.