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Celebrating 25 years of e-diaries

It is 25 years since the first iteration of B+LNZ’s weekly e-diaries arrived in the in-boxes of Southern South Island sheep and beef farmers.

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Featured

image of Zowie Ransfield B+LNZ Digital Content & Website Manager and Will Jerffares B+LNZ Comms Specialist

E-diary notices: 7 August 2026

Want to feature in our 2027 Parasite Management Calendar?

Farm conversions to forestry slower but food producing land still at risk

Conversion of sheep and beef farms to forestry has slowed, but an additional 30,000 hectares of whole sheep and beef farms have been confirmed as sold for forestry since mid-2025. New research for B+LNZ brings the total extent of whole sheep and beef farms sold for afforestation since 1 January 2017 to almost 330,000 hectares.

B+LNZ Scholar Korrie Fletcher

When thinking about topics for her PhD, agricultural scientist Korrie Fletcher saw a research gap in the relationship between eating behaviour, feed intake efficiency and methane production.

Making quality supplementary feed

The art and science of making supplementary feed was the topic of the second in a series of three webinars run by B+LNZ's Central Otago Farming for Profit committee.

Celebrating 100 years of New Zealand red meat exports to US

From small beginnings when New Zealand exported just 14 tonnes of red meat to the US in 1926, the market has grown into one of our most important trade relationships.

E-diary notices: 31 July 2026

Ballance Farm Environment Awards entries open, B+LNZ submission on Climate Change Commission’s advice on emissions budget

Positive results a year into B+LNZ’s WNI Hub Farm

Just over a year into Beef + Lamb New Zealand's (B+LNZ) Western North Island (WNI) Hub Farm programme, Ohineiti Station is beginning to see measurable results from changes implemented on-farm.

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Building global connections for the future of sheep farming

The Global Sheep Forum's Next Generation programme gives a group of young sheep farmers from five countries the chance to explore opportunities for industry collaboration and learn more about the host country's sheep farming systems.

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Enhancing the social licence of sheep and beef sector

We’ve marked some significant milestones in recent weeks on our efforts to enhance the red meat sector’s social licence.

The long and short of long-acting pre-lamb treatments

Wormwise's Mary Bowron outlines the long-term risks and short-term rewards associated with pre-lamb drenching and ways to reduce pre-lamb worm pressure without resorting to the drench gun.

Turning soil nitrogen into valuable feed

Farmers finishing their winter forage crops are being encouraged to consider planting a catch crop this spring to capture soil nitrogen and turn it into valuable drymatter.

image of older woman at field day laughing

E-diary notices: 24 July 2026

NZMB farmer consultation on industry-good funding

European Union flag blowing in wind with blue sky

EU livestock strategy reflects New Zealand approach

B+LNZ is pleased to see the European Union’s new livestock strategy take a more balanced approach to livestock methane emissions, recognising farmers as valuable partners in delivering climate and food security outcomes.

Farm system change a win-win for the business and environment

Generating more from less. This has been the philosophy behind the evolution of Blueridge Farms’ intensive bull finishing operation at Te Pahu in the Waikato.

Partnering to support East Coast recovery

Beef + Lamb New Zealand (B+LNZ), in collaboration with Tairāwhiti Whenua Charitable Trust, has brought together more than 30 organisations and secured around $130,000 in funding and in-kind support to help East Coast farmers and whenua Māori landowners recover from January's severe weather event.

Take on a GFF Student

More than 130 young people have already registered their interest in the 2027 Growing Future Farmers (GFF) Sheep & Beef Foundations programme, highlighting strong demand for careers in sheep and beef farming. Now, Farm Trainers are urgently needed to help turn that interest into a future in the sector.

image of farmland and road running to Raglan in Waikato

Some improvements but still work to be done on RMA reform legislation

The following was emailed to farmers on 22 July 2026.

Calf rearing 101

The practicalities and pitfalls of calf rearing were discussed at the first of Beef + Lamb New Zealand’s Central Otago Farming for Profit winter webinar series.

Pre-lamb worm pressure – where it comes from and what to do about it?

Ginny Dodunski, Beef + Lamb New Zealand’s Wormwise programme manager, outlines the factors involved in ewes’ loss of immunity to internal parasites in late pregnancy.

B+LNZ at LambEx 2026

Representatives from B+LNZ recently joined over 1,450 attendees at this year’s LambEx Conference in Adelaide, Australia. The conference, held from 7–10 July, brought together leading experts from the global sheep, lamb, and wool industries to share insights on the latest innovations, research, and emerging industry trends.

image of fresh lamb rack on cutting board next to knife

US lamb global safeguard investigation

The following was emailed to farmers on 15 July 2026.

Getting more from sidelings

A B+LNZ-supported field day at Bill and Sue Garland’s Rahiri Farm earlier this year tackled a question plenty of hill country farmers will relate to: how do you get more out of the parts of your farm that never quite pull their weight?

Focusing on lamb survival

The intricacies of pre-lamb ewe nutrition was the topic for discussion when members of Beef + Lamb New Zealand’s Northern South Island Lamb Survivability Focus Group gathered together in late June.

E-diary notices: 10 July 2026

South Wairarapa flood event, Congratulations to 2026 FMG Young Farmer of the Year Tom Slee

Refreshed support for farm employers

B+LNZ has updated its Employment Hub, bringing together practical tools and resources to help farm employers build and support a strong team.

Meet Bella – your B+LNZ Knowledge Hub assistant

Like any good heading dog, Bella (Beef + Lamb Assistant) will listen to your commands – tell her what you want to know and she’ll round up an answer from the Knowledge Hub in no time.

Ask Bella How Bella can help