This season we were lucky to connect with Alison Bentley from Tikitere Farm . She produces hazelnuts and beef in Rotorua and has  spent the last year doing research into local food systems. Find out more about her work below, and if you're in the area, support her small business! How did you get into farming? Generational - as long as we can trace back my family has grown food. Initially it was feeding the family, then in my parents' generation different members of the family became farmers in business, industrial farmers by default. But my father chose to discontinue use of herbic ..read more

The Government has proposed a new Bill that has the undue power to override almost every environmental law that has been established in Aotearoa over the past four decades. This bill will give them the power to sneak destructive development projects in through the back. The Fast-track Approvals Bill is a Minister-controlled and obscenely undemocratic piece of legislation designed to give environmentally damaging projects the go-ahead with little or no consideration of the potential long-term environmental and social impacts. The Select Committee is calling for submissions from the public, and ..read more

by Olivia Oldham PhD Candidate | Global Academy of Agriculture and Food Systems, University of Edinburgh If you're reading this newsletter, I probably don't need to explain to you that the food system is not working—either for people or planet—and that agroecology and food sovereignty are alternatives worth striving for. While there are lots of things we could be doing to work towards those goals, one of the key elements we should be thinking about is land. And, because the rules of property structure things like who gets access to land, how they are able to access it, and what they are able t ..read more

By Leigh McKenzie Central government recently brought in a new National Policy Statement under the Resource Management Act 1991 to protect Highly Productive Land. The purpose of this new policy is to protect high class soils for food and fibre production for the future as it is a non-renewable resource. The new policy is to direct new housing developments and subdivisions away from Highly Productive Land. The subdivision of land for urban development and lifestyle blocks has been encroaching on and diminishing the usefulness of Highly Productive Land in New Zealand. Highly Productive Land in ..read more

Fergus, Jamie, and Lydia in the newly established BHU market garden with their trusty chook crew members. Canterbury-based BHU Organic College Market Garden is a space for growing, learning and connecting with community. This model small-scale market garden has been recently established to teach organic, agroecological farming methods via experiential education and they have recently taken on two interns. We caught up with head farmer, Jamie Tucker, and interns Lydia and Fergus. How did you (Jamie) get into growing? After a few too many episodes of Anthony Bourdain: No Reservat ..read more

The Setha’s Seeds Team: Roddy, River Rose, Setha & Kiersten-Anna in their early spring garden! The Setha’s Seeds team: Setha, Roddy, River Rose & Kiersten-Anna, live in the Hawkes Bay, near Tutira, in a bursting garden of all sorts of flowers and fruiting plants. Setha and Roddy have been growing seeds and selling as Setha’s Seeds since 2013 in the long, hot summers that the Hawke’s Bay offers. They are well known for their beautiful yams, heritage potatoes and garlic, and over the years have gathered and propagated some real Aotearoa seed treasures. You can find Setha’s Seeds on thei ..read more

Our first member spotlight is Tomtit Farm. The Tomtits, Brit and James, are located in Matangi, Hamilton and they are growing a beautiful array of produce, flowers, and healthy, happy soil! You can find out more about their offerings and how to support their work in their directory listing. They are also part of the Earthworkers programme and have recently been featured on a Farmers in the Field Episode where they talk about no-till techniques and cover cropping. Watch that here! Tomtit Farm offers their produce through a CSA as well as a 24/7 road side fridge at the Front Paddock Cafe and th ..read more

I believe that if we use our joy as a compass to guide our actions, the world will be a kinder and more beautiful place.  Eve, the founder of Forage Flowers, gives us a brightly colored, and fragrant example of how following your joy is good for the world. Doing what she loves, Eve has started a small flower farm, growing beautiful, spray free flowers in West Auckland.  “My favorite thing is giving people flowers,” she told me. Involved in horticulture and ecology work for years, Eve found in her days as an ecologist she was most inspired by collecting native flowers and arranging t ..read more

Has the Covid-19 Pandemic ‘Sped Up’ Progress in Sustainable Agriculture?  One of the main narratives that came after lockdown last year, was a grassroots push to ‘build back better’. Central Government took this on and pumped funding into green initiatives to boost the green economy. This is fantastic in New Zealand, however globally, it is hard to tell whether the pandemic has upped the pace of change, or whether it is being way-laid like other work since Covid-19 took the world by a storm. Also, does this apply to sustainable initiatives broadly, or has land use and agriculture has bee ..read more

At Village Agrarians, we were excited to learn about the work of Grow Wanaka, a new organization contributing to the growing community food system in Wanaka and the Lakes District. While their physical space is a small approximately 28 meter by 17 meter garden, their vision is far reaching. Their desire to create a vibrant educational hub where community members can learn, connect and grow drives the group's action. As Chairperson Chloe Rowe explains, once you have an idea, you just need to start and see how it goes. Preparing to enter their first growing season, this is exactly what Grow Wan ..read more