18th May 2026 // Rural News in partnership with Farmlands

Plant variety rights strengthened to protect horticulture exports Diesel up nearly ninety-five percent in two months UK-born agronomist wins Pukekohe Young Grower title 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.   Plant variety rights strengthened to protect horticulture exports Kiwifruit, apple and grass seed growers stand to benefit from changes to New Zealand's plant variety rights laws, with the Government moving to extend protections and close gaps that left breeders exposed during lengthy approval processes. The numbers behind the changes are significant. In 2024, seventy-five percent of the three-point-five billion dollars in kiwifruit export returns came from protected varieties, along with an estimated fifty-five percent of apple export returns. Zespri projects that extending protection on SunGold Kiwifruit alone by five years would generate around one-point-eight billion dollars in additional revenue for the industry and the Bioeconomy Science Institute. The amendments extend the term of plant variety rights and restore provisional protection from day one of an application — meaning breeders can take immediate legal action if varieties are stolen or commercially exploited during the approval process, which can take up to five years. Commerce Minister Cameron Brewer says breeding new varieties is a long, expensive and uncertain process, and breeders need to know their investment is protected.   Diesel up nearly ninety-five percent in two months New Zealand farmers are facing a dramatic squeeze on operating costs, with diesel prices up ninety-four-point-nine percent in just two months, according to new Stats NZ figures. April alone saw diesel rise thirty-six-point-six percent — following a significant jump in March. Petrol increased twelve-point-six percent over the same month, and is up thirty-three-point-six percent since February. Annually, diesel has risen ninety-one-point-three percent and petrol thirty-point-one percent. Electricity prices also climbed two-point-four percent in April, and have risen every month since December 2024 — up thirteen-point-one percent annually. Gas prices are up ten-point-eight percent for the year. For the farm sector, the combined pressure of sharply higher diesel, electricity and gas costs comes at a time when input cost management is already a key challenge.   UK-born agronomist wins Pukekohe Young Grower title And a UK-born agronomist has taken out the 2026 Pukekohe Young Grower regional title, and will now represent the region at the national competition in Cromwell in August. Twenty eight year old James Blair, works for AS Wilcox covering four regions from the Far North to Ohakune, as well as overseeing the South Island seed programme. He grew up on a dairy farm in the UK, studied agricultural crop science, and found his way to New Zealand horticulture almost by chance. The national Young Grower of the Year final takes place in Cromwell on August twenty-seventh and twenty-eighth.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.