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New Zealand is renowned for producing safe, nutritious food with ethical farming practices. This special report explores how food and fashion brands are meeting changing customer demands and our farmers’ efforts to match the evolving requirements with evidence. Words Anne Lee & Sarah Perriam-Lampp.

This special episode of CountryWide explores the first independent evaluation of Halter’s virtual fencing and herding technology, now used on more than 600,000 dairy and beef cows across New Zealand, the United States and Australia. An AgFirst and Transform Agri study of ten high-performing dairy farms shows clear gains in pasture utilisation, labour efficiency, animal performance and environmental outcomes.

Sarah Perriam-Lampp speaks with James Allen from AgFirst, Julian Gaffney from Transform Agri and Halter’s Head of Corporate Farming, Steve Crowhurst, to unpack the findings, including an average 13 percent lift in farm profit before tax and how top operators are using the system.

In this episode, Louise Cook, Fonterra’s Environment Programme Lead for On-Farm Excellence, unpacks how farmers boost efficiency while cutting emissions in a major industry project showing farmers can cut greenhouse gas emissions and nitrogen surplus without sacrificing profitability. She explains the practices that lift efficiency with homegrown feed utilisation is the standout lever, and how top farms turn the same inputs into far stronger outputs.

What’s driving smarter, more strategic weaning decisions?

In this episode, Andrew Dowling, Technical Expert - Animal Production at PGG Wrightson, breaks down how to avoid costly weaning checks, and the practical steps farmers can take to keep lambs tracking forward while protecting ewe condition for their next tupping.

What are the key drivers behind New Zealand’s 47% reduction in antibiotic sales?

In this episode, Dr Annabel Harris, Chair of the NZVA’s Antimicrobial Resistance Committee explains how cross-industry collaboration and learnings internationally have helped shape on-farm practice of antibiotic use to protect New Zealand farmers from the threat of antibiotic resistance.

Read CountryWide Summer 2026 online here. CountryWide is New Zealand’s only dedicated farmers and growers magazine, available on subscription.

Born and raised in farming communities in the Waikato, Saskatchewan arable farmer, Sean Case, shares the contrast where farming liquid gold is very different.

Heavy rain events provide an opportunity for farmers to record where water is flowing across farms and if mitigation action is needed. Words Heather Chalmers, Photos Abie Horrocks.

A groundbreaking new sheep trial is set to find the link between lamb survival rates and flock resilience by delving into the crucial role of ewes as ‘good mums’ aiming to significantly impact the country’s sheep sector. Words Sarah Perriam-Lampp.