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Held in the Ashburton Ruralco Gift and Homeware’s store on Wednesday 2 October, the Ruralco Ladies Night, now in its fourth year, was a fantastic opportunity for rural women to enjoy a night of fashion and to find out how best to dress.

It was a fantastic effort by Enda Hawe’s team to win the Ruralco Meridian Top Farm competition which was held at the Ashburton A & P Showgrounds on Saturday 9 November 2019. Team members Enda and Sarah Hawe, Jason Palmer and Andrew Livingston were ecstatic after they completed a number of challenges to go on and take out the title of Top Farm.

The first-time online voting process, conducted and scrutinised by independent company Electionz.com, saw Shareholder participation rates as high as ever with a fivefold increase (549%) in participation rates from the 2018 election. With three candidates standing for two seats, Directors Jessie Chan-Dorman and Tony Coltman (who had both stood down via rotation) were both re-elected.

High-energy red clover delivers a double gain for farmers looking to improve both animal performance and soil nutrient management this season.

For the next three months we are looking at the final sprays for finishing off our cereal and grass seed crops, getting our silos cleaned up before harvest, continuing our post emergence sprays on fodder beet, pre and post emergence sprays on forage brassicas and weed control in new pasture.

Two key agricultural herbicides from Nufarm have been upgraded to higher concentrations of active ingredient this season. High strength formulations of Kamba and Archer have all recently been approved for use in New Zealand, and they have been re-named and re-labelled accordingly.

Spring has once again delivered a variety of weather conditions. After a warmer than usual July and August period, both September and October had mixed weather. Soil temperature struggled to increase, and inconsistent sunshine hours resulted in crops and pasture being slow to establish during this period.

To mark World Soil Day on 5 December, Ballance Agri-Nutrients Forage Specialist and no-till advocate Murray Lane discusses soil loss prevention.

With four children, three farms and a career in politics spanning 25 years, the Rt Hon David Carter and wife, Heather, have been able to balance farming and politics through their partnership. They work hard, have an incredible passion for New Zealand agriculture, and have forged a life blending love of family, farm and country.

Multi-talented Kurow mum Sam Laugesen splits her time between dairy farming, an accommodation business, growing lavender, and writing children’s books.