Blue Shed Diary

Feral cats are taking a toll on New Zealand farms by killing native wildlife and spreading disease.

Toxoplasmosis is a parasite that needs a cat's intestines to complete its life cycle and contaminates the soil and water. It can infect people, livestock, even dolphins. With millions of feral cats roaming New Zealand, the threat is everywhere -- and our farmers are feeling the pain. What can we do about it?

Joining the conversation is Richard Dawkins. He is the National Meet & Wool Chairman for the Federated Farmers and runs a sheep, beef, and viticulture farm in Marlborough.

By the end of March 2026, the nation's 3G network will be gone. Bit by bit, region by region, One NZ, Spark, and 2Degrees are shutting down their networks. While few in the urban centres will even notice, many rural communities will feel the pain.

Joining the conversation to discuss 3G's demise and how to prepare for it is CEO of TUANZ (Tech Users Association of NZ) Craig Young.

For stories for and about New Zealand women who work the land, look no further than Shepherdess magazine. Each season, the publication delves into the lives of provincial women who play a unique role on their farms and in their communities.

Six years ago, Kristy McGregor started the Shepherdess Instagram page to bridge the isolation gap that many in the primary sector feel. Now, 24-editions later, the magazine is celebrating its 5th anniversary and is fully entrenched in the urban and rural landscape.

Joining the conversation is its creator, Publisher, and Editor-in-Chief Kristy McGregor. She lives with her partner and three children on a dairy farm in Manakau. Besides being a busy mum, magazine publisher, and more -- Kristy is also finalising the plans for The Shepherdess Muster. The three-day festival dedicated to celebrating the lives of rural women coming this March.

Our horticulture industry reached a new milestone this year - nearly $8.5 BILLION in exports. An impressive feat considering a decade ago the sector had a major problem on its hands.

Resistance.

The sector's response? Lean in.

With consumers wanting sustainably grown food free from as many ag-chem products as possible, and willing to pay a premium, the industry decided collaboration would be a better idea. Working across horticulture, arable and wine, a new programme was created to support growers as they shifted away from agri-chemicals to biologicals and integrated pest management. Together, they created 'A Lighter Touch' programme - a seven-year, $27 million programme funded by government and industry. Now, five years in, A Lighter Touch is seeing incredible results. Joining the conversation is Programme Director Livia Esterhazy.

An orchard in Otago is doing things a little differently by ditching the diesel vehicles and machinery, installing solar panels, and adding an adopt-a-tree programme.

Forest Lodge Orchard near Cromwell is better known by the name, Electric Cherry - a name inspired by their journey to become New Zealand's first certified fossil free cherry orchard.

For Mike Casey, his wife Rebecca and partners Euan and Rachel White, this has been an incredible adventure. Together, they have gone from knowing nothing about growing cherries to having over 9,000 trees in the ground and a determination to show others that going electric is better for the bottom line and environment.

Many farmers and growers, looking to diversify their income, are exploring agritourism. From sleeping huts and hunting to walking trails and cheese making, more and more in the primary sector are seeing how they can introduce tourism into their operation.

But is getting into agritourism as simple as throwing up a sleeping hut on the back blocks and putting up a website?

In a word: No.

One woman is helping our primary producers unlock their tourism potential: Marijke Dunselman, leader of the industry body Agritourism New Zealand joins the conversation.

In April 2025, the government undertook a review into how our farm plastics are recycled, and Environment Minister Penny Simmonds walked us through the proposal to merge the existing voluntary schemes, Agrecovery and Plasback, into a single national system. Now, after industry feedback, the national system has the green light, and the Minister joins the Blue Shed Diary once again to give us all the details.

In July, the EPA aka Environmental Protection Authority announced a ban on the insecticide – chlorpyrifos. It has been the primary weapon against pests like grass grub, nysius, and Argentine Stem weevil but it was also dangerous to everything and everyone around it.

So, what can farmers and growers do for pest control now that Chlorpyrifos is banned. For those answers we turn toPGG Wrightson Technical Specialist for Agronomy Joseph Watts.

PGG Wrightson has a long-standing commitment to Research & Development. We run some 70 scientific trials around the country each year. So, when a very unique plot of land – the Geelan Family Trust Research Station in Hastings – becameavailable, we leapt at the opportunity to have our very own dedicated R&D site.

Joining the conversation is the man running the new PGG Wrightson Research & Development Station, Extension Advisor Marcus Fitzsimmons.

Let's talk about poo. Specifically, sheep poo and why our next guest is asking farmers to send it in the mail.

Why?Facial Eczema.

To get an understanding of how FE impacts New Zealand, the woman behind this study is principal scientist at Beef & Lamb NZ, Dr Cara Brosnahan.