Rural

A million-plus to beat bovine TB

The Animal Health Board has asked Marlborough District Council to pay more than a million dollars toward the cost of bovine tuberculosis control over the next five years.

Interest expected in sale of vineyards

Two Marlborough wine companies are for sale after financial difficulties: Tetley Brook Vineyard through a mortgagee sale, and Sedgebrook Estate through a receivership sale.

Rustler ordered to repay sheep farmer

The Marlborough Express

A Renwick man has been ordered to pay back half the value of the sheep he and another man killed on a Northbank farm.

Train fire suspect

The Marlborough Express

A fire possibly caused by a passing train burnt about 3 hectares of grass near Seddon on Thursday night.

Workers fined for freedom camping

JARED NICOLL - The Marlborough Express

The number of freedom campers sleeping out illegally in Marlborough peaked over the last month due to wayward vineyard workers and Kiwi holidaymakers, says Marlborough District Council.

Protection project a win-win effort

PENNY WARDLE - The Marlborough Express

Ward farmers Mike Watson and Joan Dodson say protecting a gully on their Stirling Brook property has been a win-win for conservation and stock management.

30 bulls freed from truck

SAM MORTON - The Marlborough Express

Firefighters used cutting gear to free bulls from a stock truck that tipped over on State Highway 1 near Seddon yesterday.

Rural rezoning rules questioned

Planning rules may not properly deal with all the relevant issues when rural areas in Marlborough are rezoned for residential development, a hearing has been told.

Times not sweet for beekeepers

Marlborough beekeepers are experiencing a challenging spring and summer, says Federated Farmers Marlborough bee industry representative Will Trollope.

Trainee thrives at winery

KAT PICKFORD - The Marlborough Express

Erin Kenyon is two years into her four-year organic horticultural apprenticeship at Seresin Estate.

Possum fur trade booming

TANIA BUTTERFIELD - The Marlborough Express

A booming possum trade in recent months has increased the Conservation Department's concern about illegal trapping.

Farmers worried by classification process

Ward landowners are annoyed that the Marlborough District Council gave them no opportunity to help identify outstanding landscapes in the area where many of their families have farmed for more than 100 years.

Dairy effluent spotlighted

The latest in dairy farming good practice and technology will be showcased at the inaugural Canterbury Effluent Expo to be held on Monday, February 20 in Christchurch.

Trevatts triumph in taste contests

The Marlborough Express

Beauty is not always in the eye of the beholder.

Housing hearing

A hearing to consider submissions on the proposed rezoning of land at Burleigh in Blenheim for housing has been set down for three days from Wednesday next week.

Tests show dairy run off the culprit

PENNY WARDLE - The Marlborough Express

Dairy pollution of waterways has affected sea water as well as river swimming spots

Injured stock priority; vet

EMMA DANGERFIELD - The Marlborough Express

Calls are being made to tighten up protocol around stock truck crashes following the prolonged suffering and ultimate suffocation of animals in an incident last Thursday afternoon.

Disaster averted as wind machines kick in

PENNY WARDLE - The Marlborough Express

Wind machines were working in the Waihopai Valley on Sunday night, as the temperature dropped to almost zero.

Bumper garlic crop hits market

SAM MORTON - The Marlborough Express

A significant increase in garlic area could mean more of the Marlborough product is bound for the export market this season, a garlic grower says.

Japanese buy vineyard

Overseas interest in Marlborough's wine industry accounted for four out of five applications to buy land approved by the Overseas Investment Office for the region last year.

Two wine firms in receivership

SONIA BEAL - The Marlborough Express

An internationally acclaimed Marlborough wine company is one of two in the region that has been placed into receivership.

Awards recognise NZ's rural women

IAN ALLEN - The Marlborough Express

Entries to the Enterprising Rural Women Awards 2012 are now open.

Abundance of beautiful berrys

IAN ALLEN - The Marlborough Express

A Canadian couple travelling around New Zealand stopped at Birch Hill Berries in the Wairau Valley a few days ago to pick their own punnet of raspberries, blueberries, boysenberries and gooseberries.

Best yield yet from barley crop

PENNY WARDLE - The Marlborough Express

Wednesday was one out of the box for harvesting barley at Lions Back farm south of Seddon.

Views on agapanthus differ widely

RACHEL YOUNG - The Marlborough Express

Green-thumbed Marlburians are at odds with bio-diversity advocates over one of the region's most prolific plants.

Council puts new forestry rules on hold

PENNY WARDLE - The Marlborough Express

The Marlborough District Council has put new rules for forestry on hold until the government has completed national standards for the sector.

Food protests sowing panic

PENNY WARDLE AND FAIRFAX - The Marlborough Express

A viral internet campaign waged through an anonymous website is causing panic and confusion about the proposed Food Bill, says Tuamarina seed grower Jeremy Davison.

Price at bottom of wine barrel

The price for bulk sauvignon blanc has halved in the past three years, pushing it to the edge of profitability for suppliers, a bulk wine broker says.

Food Bill seen as threat

Terry Ford, of Grovetown, is afraid the Food Bill progressing through Parliament could be the final straw for his vegetable growing business.

Landscape group wants change

PENNY WARDLE - The Marlborough Express

The Marlborough Landscape Group is putting pressure on a council-owned forestry company to set a good example of managing trees without damaging the landscape.

Thinning time for vines

The Marlborough Express

Dominic Pecchenino, of Pecchenino Viticulture, planned to be out in vineyards he owns and manages today, assessing grape crops to see whether or not they should be thinned.

Five star Te Pa

MICHAEL BERRY - The Marlborough Express

Te Pa means home for the MacDonald family of Marlborough and the new wine label's first release has been given a bit of a homecoming by wine critics.

Berries aplenty at Renwick

PENNY WARDLE - The Marlborough Express

Pickers are bringing in plenty of blueberries at Windsong Orchard in Renwick, although a cool start to summer meant the crop missed the Christmas deadline.

Fears of new laws 'unwarranted'

PENNY WARDLE - The Marlborough Express

Green list MP Steffan Browning, who lives in Marlborough, wants the Government to reopen public consultation on the New Zealand Food Bill, now before Parliament.

Effluent data 'out of date'

PENNY WARDLE - The Marlborough Express

A Fonterra report uses out-of-date data to rank Marlborough dairy farmers the worst in New Zealand at keeping effluent out of waterways, says a Marlborough Federated Farmers head.

Rare tapeworm cysts found in cattle

PENNY WARDLE - The Marlborough Express

A Blenheim farmer has had more than $1000 knocked off the price of his meat after it was contaminated by a rare tapeworm carried by people.

Sauvignon blanc yields might be lower

STAFF REPORTERS - The Marlborough Express

A poor flowering could lower the yield of the region's flagship sauvignon blanc vines.

Rural needs a priority

PENNY WARDLE - The Marlborough Express

Blenheim man Ian Blair is heading to the Nelson region today to see how he can help people affected by last week's flooding.

Farms costing more

The Marlborough Express

The number of farms sold in Nelson and Marlborough has eased but prices continue to rise.

Restricted fire season begins

ROBIN RAYMOND - The Marlborough Express

The restricted fire season in South Marlborough may have come later than usual, but people still need to be extra careful in the coming months, Marlborough principal rural fire officer Ross Hamilton says.

Grower says compo likely over outage

The Marlborough Express

A cherry grower who was not told about a planned power outage is confident he will get some compensation from power company TrustPower.

Late apricot harvest under way

RACHEL YOUNG - The Marlborough Express

Marlborough apricot growers have started the golden harvest a little later than usual.

Network with down to earth philosophy

PENNY WARDLE - The Marlborough Express

Penny Wardle visits an orchard that shares organic-farming values with visitors of all ages and all nations.

Farmer queries landscape plan

PENNY WARDLE - The Marlborough Express

Ward farmer Rob Peter yesterday challenged the Marlborough District Council on its top-down approach to identifying significant landscapes in Marlborough.

The joys of collecting wineries

The Marlborough Express

Vavasour investor Bill Foley, who once earned $240m in a year, tells John Saker why he's plunging into our vats and vineyards.

Aid for ailing vineyard owner

A Tauranga-based former lawyer has come to the aid of a terminally ill Marlborough man and his wife to help them keep hold of their Fairhall vineyard.

Ban aimed at trophy hunters

ROB MACINTOSH - The Marlborough Express

A future ban on heli-hunting would affect only trophy hunters, not meat hunters, the New Zealand Deerstalkers' Association South Island representative says.