• International Day Of Rural Women

• Nine farms join virtual fencing trial programme

• Auckland butchery wins NZ’s top sausage title

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International Day Of Rural Women

Today marks the International Day of Rural Women, established by the United Nations in 2007 to honour rural and indigenous women’s contribution to agriculture, food security and the environment.

Rural women make up about a quarter of the world’s population and nearly half of the global agricultural workforce, yet own just one in five parcels of farmland worldwide.

Here in New Zealand, women are running farms, driving trucks, treating stock as vets, and leading in paddocks and boardrooms, often balancing on-farm work with family and community commitments.

Many rural women say finding their feet in farming took time, but describe the journey as rewarding, with far more support now available than in generations past.

Tell us about a great rural woman in your life and she could win a Life and Leisure subscription.

Email connect@country-wide.co.nz.

Nine farms join virtual fencing trial programme

Nine commercial farms across the country are taking part in a new five-year programme testing virtual fencing technology under real farming conditions.

The LIFT programme, led by Pāmu, includes high country stations, Māori-owned farms and family operations from Northland to Otago

The programme is co-funded by the Ministry for Primary Industries, with results shared through field days and annual reports over the next five years.

Auckland butchery wins NZ’s top sausage title

Auckland’s Mapari Meats has been crowned Supreme Winner of the 2026 Great New Zealand Sausage Competition, for its Birria Taco sausage.

Co-owner Richard Healey says the win is five years in the making and a credit to the whole team, with judges unanimously praising the sausage’s balance of Mexican-inspired flavours, including chilli, clove and cinnamon.

A record eight hundred and sixty-nine entries were judged across thirteen categories this year.

Milford’s Well Hung Butchery took the People’s Choice Award for its Chicken, Brie and Cranberry sausage, while Westmere Butchery won the Dunninghams’ Choice Award for its Lamb Sicilian.

With summer approaching, organisers say the results give barbecue lovers a nationwide guide to some of the country’s best snags.

And who isn’t looking forward to the BBQ season!