Health

Farmers Weekly asks New Zealand’s six biggest parties to spell out their policies for the primary sector.

Health debate takes place as alarming new stats released.

Rural Health Network wins funding from Health NZ to support recruitment for primary care practices.

Steve Wyn-Harris returns briefly to the Ridge to give warning about a wet-season lambing hazard that recently caught him with his gloves off.

Under-30s in the most rural communities are dying twice as fast as city peers.

Workforce plan and election promise ‘reflect our thinking'.

Sector has challenges but is not collapsing, says Prime.

It’s not all tough going, recalls long-serving rural doctor.

Dr Sue Fowlie says her staff are burnt out, but replacing them with offshore personnel is costly.

Survey finds rural hospital doctors feel even more overworked than a year ago.

Cyclone Gabrielle taught us hard lessons about preserving farmer wellbeing in the era of climate change.

Report outlines challenges faced by far-flung communities during pandemic.

Sheep farmers urged to think ahead given likely unavailability of drench capsules.

October is shaping up to be a busy month for the Glob – the orange caravan you may have already seen carrying out free health checks at rural events nationwide.

Reflecting on his own career, Kane Brisco says he went through some challenging times as a sharemilker.

Greater use of antibiotics in production animal systems has been attributed to the growth in antimicrobial resistance (AMR) globally. But until now little has been known about AMR in New Zealand farm systems, and whether grazing cows outdoors in a grass-fed system has any influence on its prevalence. Post-doctoral researcher Rose Collis has helped lift the level of that knowledge. She spoke to Richard Rennie.

Jonathon Hoets is a farm manager at Kairoa Dairies Limited, which is part of the Rylib Group farming…

A long-time advocate for rural health services in Otago, Dr Branko Sijnja, has been awarded the Peter Snow…

The last minute inclusion of a rural health strategy in the Government’s Healthy Futures Bill is being hailed…

A chapter of this year’s budget outlining a $40 million investment into RNA vaccination research passed with little fanfare. But it was met with much celebration from scientists involved in this area of flexible, rapid vaccination deployment suitable for both humans and production animals. Richard Rennie spoke to Axel Heiser, principal scientist at AgResearch and one of NZ’s few experts in the RNA vaccination field.

Paul Walker runs a 300-cow, 90-hectare dairy farm in Pongakawa, just south of Te Puke, in Bay of Plenty. He discusses the difference Farmstrong has made to his farming.

The Meat the Need national charity is celebrating two years in business with key partner Silver Fern Farms joining the party.

Rural communities should be a priority health focus alongside women, Māori, Pacific and people with disabilities in the Government’s health reforms, according to a NZ Rural General Practice Network (NZRGPN) submission.

The Men’s Muster is back for a second year, with Te Anau hosting the event from August 25-27.

NEW research showing that New Zealand has the highest death rate of melanoma in the world is of little surprise, a health researcher says.

Skin cancer, so often the curse of New Zealand farmers will be subdued if not banished, by a new initiative to educate rural health professionals on its detection...

Dairy farmer Graham Berry milks 240 cows on a 145-hectare West Coast farm near Franz Josef. Farmstrong caught up with him to get his thoughts on living well to farm well.

A rapidly changing world is forcing change on farmers faster than ever before, but 2019 Nuffield scholar Corrigan Sowman suggests taking some lessons from the All Blacks’ playbook can help.

Studies into the state of mental health of rural New Zealanders are scant at best. Among young rural men it is virtually non-existent, something counsellor and Southland deer farmer Kathryn Wright is about to rectify.

Todd and Anneke Reeves manage 480 cows on a 250ha family farm in Pukekohe, South Auckland. Todd recently shared his thoughts with Farmstrong on how to live well to farm well.

The Government has announced a new close contact exemption scheme to help keep critical supply chains running if impacted by Omicron.

Kiwifruit industry stalwart Marty Robinson says the challenges facing growers this summer require a different mindset to both work and wellbeing.

MANAGING Omicron in rural areas is likely to mean more medical consultations carried out either virtually or over the phone.

Silver Fern Farms is preparing for the imminent arrival of the covid Omicron variant, but says it is business as usual.

With 40 years’ experience in the kiwifruit industry, Sean Canarchan has some clear ideas about what it takes to last the distance.

North Canterbury sheep scanner Ben O’Carroll recently ran from Cheviot to Christchurch, in the process raising more than $25,000 for men’s mental health and suicide prevention.