21st April 2026 // Rural News in partnership with Farmlands

Rural groups challenge ACT's positions Can dairy prices hold ground Big ideas day for primary sector   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.   Rural groups challenge ACT's positions Three major rural advocacy groups have written to the ACT Party demanding clear policy positions on a range of issues critical to primary sector industries ahead of November's election. Groundswell New Zealand, NZ Farming, and the Methane Science Accord have jointly signed the letter, directed at ACT leader David Seymour, Biosecurity Minister Andrew Hoggard, Under-secretary for RMA Reform Mark Court, and ACT Party Agricultural Spokesperson Mark Cameron. The groups have raised concerns across six key areas — carbon forestry and the Emissions Trading Scheme, energy costs, methane research funding, planning and freshwater legislation, the proposed Gene Technology Bill, and the growing inflationary burden on rural businesses. On carbon forestry, the groups say more than three hundred thousand hectares of productive farmland has been converted since twenty-seventeen, hollowing out rural communities and costing on-farm jobs. They want ACT to commit to closing loopholes that allow overseas-owned companies to convert pastoral land for carbon offsetting.  The letter also pushes back hard on mandatory Freshwater Farm Plans, citing Beef and Lamb research showing eighty-three percent of farmers opposed to government-prescribed farm plans.    Can dairy prices hold ground Dairy farmers will be watching their phones overnight with the next Global Dairy Trade auction expected to show whether last fortnight's sharp drop was a blip or the start of a new trend. The April seventh auction posted a three point four percent decline — the first fall in the GDT price index since the final auction of last year. Prices dropped across most key commodities including whole milk powder, skim milk powder, butter, and anhydrous milkfat. Tonight's event is the first opportunity for the market to respond, with farmers and processors hoping the result steadies ahead of the new season. Whole milk powder — the cornerstone of New Zealand's dairy export returns — will be the key number to watch.   Big ideas day for primary sector Some of the primary sector's sharpest minds gather in Palmerston North tomorrow for the Beef and Lamb New Zealand AgInnovation Conference — and CountryConnect will be there live. The biennial event has sold out, drawing innovators, researchers, and industry leaders to explore where farming is headed.  Keynote speakers include Mark Mortimer, an Australian farmer and technology and data analysis manager from Centre Plus Merino Group, Barney Riley from New Zealand's Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade, and Sir John Kirwan, co-founder of the Sir John Kirwan Foundation. The conference focuses on innovative solutions, business diversification, agricultural research, and global trends shaping the future of the sector.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.