Toni Williams

Greenstreet dairy farmers Lee-Anne and Norm Stewart swapped their gumboots and overalls for a touch of glamour this month.

As farmers anxiously await the outcome of the Government's Essential Freshwater plan, Ashburton farmer David Clark has outlined the significant losses it could have on his arable farm operation.

The McElhinney Water Fountain, on the corner of Havelock and West streets in downtown Ashburton, is again in top working order after a collaborative effort to restore it.

Reporter John Keast is bowing out on a newspaper career spanning 47 years.

The bond between Mt Somers shepherd Skyla Taylor and 4-year-old heading dog Dag helped them to secure the maiden win at the recent Tux New Zealand Yarding Challenge South Canterbury heat, at...

Jane Riach has taken over the helm on the board of Kanuka Mid Canterbury Regeneration Trust, helping to balance biodiversity, predator control and planting for purpose in the district.

Mid Canterbury farmers continue their battle with Mycoplasma bovis and, in some instances, still facing ongoing battles to get compensation claims paid.

Farms are dangerous places, but people make them dangerous, Agricultural Leaders Health and Safety Action Group general manager Tony Watson says.

A snapshot of an ageing Highland bull was the catalyst that spurred rural photographer Amanda King to take a personal project and grow it into a successful company reaching international markets.

''It's like using a sledgehammer to crack a walnut'' and it's not going to work, Federated Farmers general manager policy and advocacy Gavin Forrest says.

Community stalwart Rosa Bennett, who is nearing 90, is the humble recipient of an honorary Age Concern New Zealand's Dignity Champion award, and it took her by surprise.

Manuka honey exporters have welcomed the Government's plan to help secure the term ''manuka honey'' for New Zealand, ensuring the multimillion-dollar industry is protected.

''They're a pretty caring community,'' says Margaret Kelk, of her peers at Winchmore Rural Women New Zealand.

Ashburton Sailing Club members are keen to pass on their love of the water to the next generation of yachties.

The 67km long Rangitata Diversion Race (RDR) may have started from humble beginnings, with workers using picks, shovels and wooden wheelbarrows in its development at Klondyke, Mid Canterbury in 1937.

A boutique sheep milking operation on the edge of Ashburton is making cheese while the sun shines.

The rural community turned out in force to a Ministry for the Environment meeting in Ashburton earlier this month to hear discussion on the Governments's Essential Freshwater proposal and to voice...

There were no shortage of questions, and concerns, raised from the floor of the Ashburton primary sector meeting.

Arable farmer Ian Mackenzie and his wife Diana, opened their Eiffelton property in Mid Canterbury to Foundation for Arable Research's Women In Arable group, to have a close up look at how farming...