News & Events
Rural Contractors News
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Rural Contractors NZ is the voice for the $1.5b rural contracting industry accounting for 0.8% of GDP and 0.9% of national employment. Source: Infometrics 2018 report available here
RCNZ media releases and comments below – or contact our Communications advisor Brendon Burns (0274 305501)
Media Comments
RCNZ and UK equivalent work on labour exchanges
Rural Contractors New Zealand Inc (RCNZ) and its UK equivalent, the National Association of Agricultural Contractors (NAAC) have launched a new partnership to try and help solve the labour shortage gap for contractors. ‘Covid and closed borders severed a lot of the...
Rural contractors step up to address agrichemical risks
Rural contractors have formed an industry leadership group at their annual conference to make farmers and growers more aware of the benefits of using accredited agrichemical contractors and the risks of not using qualified professionals. Rural Contractors NZ (RCNZ)...
Jessica is the Rural Contractor Trainee of the Year
A 25 year old woman from Pahiatua who gave up working in a local accountancy office was tonight named the Rural Contractors NZ Trainee for 2023. Jessica Bills grew up on her parents dairy farm and her proud parents Gary and Amanda Bills were with her last night at the...
Convince townies rural sector not the enemy, MP told
An appeal to address the urban/rural divide was made at the opening day of the Rural Contractors NZ conference in Invercargill. Former RCNZ President, Southland’s John Hughes asked National’s Agriculture & Trade spokesperson Todd McClay to make this a priority,...
Rural Contractors and Nufarm add ink to long link
Global agrichemical player Nufarm has signed a new 5-year partnership plan with Rural Contractors NZ, announced at their annual conference in Invercargill today. Both say it recognises their history in working together as well as the need to address increasing demands...
Alligator weed is spreading as major research programme starts
Rural contractors and regional councils are among those supporting a new AgResearch programme on invasive alligator weed which has plagued northern farmers and growers for many years and is now spreading south. Dr Trevor James, a senior AgResearch scientist leading...
Golden Bay contractor raises $50k for flood regions – challenges others to match
The organisers of a community effort in Golden Bay which raised nearly $50,000 to assist those affected by Cyclone Gabrielle are now encouraging other rural communities to adopt their model. Rural contractors Stacey Strange and her husband Tristan brought The Farmers...
Loving the craic and mastering big machines
Leanne Hartnett, a 25 year old Irish woman doing her first season in New Zealand as a rural contractor, is loving the life here – though it took a while to get used to the size of machinery she’s required to drive. “You have to drive way bigger machines over here. We...
Time to prime the pump on new agrichemical standard
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...
Want a free lunch? Become a rural contractor
Who said there’s no such thing as a free lunch? In June, rural contractors will be getting free lunches, free dinners and even free beer. After a couple of tough years which have seen rural contractors working through floods, droughts and labour shortages, they are...
We do need education but not a brick wall
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...
Rural News opinion article from RCNZ CEO Andrew Olsen
Since the end of World War II, New Zealand has had nine recessions. I’m not sure any of these previous ones have been engineered by the Reserve Bank – or at least no Governor has so proclaimed responsibility. However, whether shallow, technical or deep,...
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