Opinion article for Contractor July edition

Jun 30, 2025 | Commentary

Taking the lead By Andrew Olsen, CEO of Rural Contractors NZ By the time you are reading this, hundreds of rural contractors from around the country will have met in four free regional roadshows. RCNZ has built good reserves over the years aided now by an expanding...

Brief to Incoming Ministers

Nov 30, 2023 | Commentary

Many organisations prepare BIMs for their relevant incoming Minister. Unusually, Rural Contractors NZ CEO Andrew Olsen has chosen to openly share his to the new Ministers of Agriculture, Immigration, Transport and Environment Dear Ministers, Let’s get straight to the...

Feed supply concerns emerging in some areas

Nov 17, 2023 | Commentary

Some parts of central and upper North Island may be 15% down on maize production this season, says Rural Contractors NZ. Julie Clark from Otorahanga and Helen Slattery from Matamata represent members from Taupo north on the RCNZ Board. Helen, who is RCNZ President,...

Time to prime the pump on new agrichemical standard

Mar 1, 2023 | Commentary

Dean Bowden has been around agricultural chemicals most of his working life and still gets pumped about using them safely. Thirty years ago, he was among the first couple of dozen spraying contractors to be registered with the New Zealand Agrichemical Education Trust...

We do need education but not a brick wall

Feb 8, 2023 | Commentary

By RCNZ CEO Andrew Olsen Pink Floyd bassist Roger Waters says his song, We don’t need no education, was actually about British schools being more interested in keeping kids quiet than teaching them anything useful. I think New Zealand is in a similar place.  I’m not...

NZX November update on cost indices

Nov 18, 2022 | Commentary

Earlier this year, as inflation began to bite, Federated Farmers and Rural Contractors NZ engaged NZX to devise new cost indices tool to support new forage contracts between farmers and contractors. NZX Dairy Analyst Alex Winning has built the index as a tool for both...
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