24th August 2026 // Rural News

Federated Farmers survey finds pest crisis deepening despite increased farmer spending NZ First proposes tenfold increase in milk access for independent dairy processors Report says agritech could revitalise rural regions — but policy settings must be right   WANT TO LISTEN TO THE SHOW LIVE (11am-1pm NZST) ON THE GO? Download CountryWide Connect mobile app to stream the show via Apple Car Play or Android Auto. Or try the voice command ‘Play CountryWide Connect’ on Amazon Alexa or Google Home.   Apple: https://apps.apple.com/nz/app/countrywide-connect/id6761033881 Google Play: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=nz.co.countrywide&hl=en_NZ   Federated Farmers survey finds pest crisis deepening despite increased farmer spending New Zealand's pest problem has reached crisis point, with a new Federated Farmers survey showing pest numbers are increasing faster than two years ago despite farmers spending more on control. The second National Pests Survey estimates pests are costing farmers around four-hundred-and-sixty-six million dollars a year. Two-thirds of farmers report pest numbers have increased over the past five years — up from around half in 2024 — while spending has risen thirteen percent to an average six-eighteen per hectare annually. Nearly one in three farmers are now reducing stocking rates due to pest pressure, up from one in nine two years ago. Pest management spokesperson Richard Dawkins says farmers can't win a landscape-scale battle one boundary fence at a time — and neighbouring forestry and Crown land are consistently identified as the main sources of reinvasion. Federated Farmers is calling for a properly funded national pest management strategy with clear responsibilities across farmers, forestry, councils and the Crown.   NZ First proposes tenfold increase in milk access for independent dairy processors New Zealand First is proposing to lift the amount of Fonterra milk available to independent processors tenfold — from fifty million to five-hundred million litres per year — to incentivise large-scale value-added dairy manufacturing in New Zealand. Leader Winston Peters says the Use It or Lose It policy is designed to attract investors willing to build dairy product manufacturing operations here, arguing the current cap is too low for industrial-scale processing. Qualifying manufacturers would access up to five-hundred million litres annually for six years, with the entitlement tapering over four further years. Milk would not be subsidised — manufacturers would pay the farmgate price plus collection costs. Peters says Fonterra's sale of its consumer business to Lactalis should be a turning point for New Zealand's dairy manufacturing ambitions.   Report says agritech could revitalise rural regions — but policy settings must be right New Zealand's agricultural technology sector has the potential to draw talent, investment and young families back to rural regions — but only if the right policy settings are in place, a new Helen Clark Foundation discussion paper warns. The Growing Innovation report says New Zealand's sixty-five billion dollar food and fibre sector is at a crossroads. Get the settings right and agritech becomes a regional revitaliser; get them wrong and it deepens the hollowing-out of rural communities. Practical recommendations include a living knowledge bank capturing experienced farmers' expertise including mātauranga Māori, a farmer-in-residence programme placing farmers inside agritech firms, and a co-funded adoption fund to share the risk of trialling new technology. On data ownership, the paper argues giving farmers collective control would shift the dynamic from data extraction to shared value.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.