30,287 copies distributed monthly – to every rural mailbox in Canterbury and the West Coast for over 25 years
April 2026 Edition
INSIDE
THIS EDITION BrightSIDE Scholar
p3 Dairy Industry Awards
p13 Winners are grinners: Category winners at the 2026 West Coast/Top of the South Dairy Industry Awards were (from left): Mark Ready (Dairy Trainee of the Year), Abbi Ayre and Frikkie Terblanche (Share Farmers of the Year) and Preet Singh (Dairy Manager of the Year).
SIDE returns
For more on the NZDIA West Coast awards see our feature on Page 13.
p28 Measuring water
p35
Looking after the cows
The winners of the Share Farmers of the Year in the 2026 Canterbury/North Otago Dairy Industry Awards have a motto: “If we look after the cows, the cows will look after us.”
] by Kent Caddick Marc and Megan Lalich, who are 50/50 sharemilking 680 cows on Peter and Susan Lalich’s 173ha farm near Greendale won the Share Farmers of the Year category at the annual awards dinner held at Hotel Ashburton recently. Lauren McConnachie was named Canterbury/North Otago Dairy Manager of the Year and the title of Canterbury/North Otago Dairy Trainee of the Year was awarded to Sam O’Neill.
It’s the first year Marc and Megan Lalich had entered the Dairy Industry Awards but both were born into farming, Marc on dairy farms in the Waikato, and Megan a sheep and beef farm at Farlie. Marc originally got a building apprenticeship and then met Megan while she was studying a Bachelor of Commerce (Agriculture) at Lincoln University and the couple later went farming together. “Our passion for dairy and the cows gets us up in the morning. We love this lifestyle and wouldn’t want to raise our children in
any other environment,” the couple said. They were contract milking for four seasons before moving into sharemilking for the last three years. Their goal is breeding better cows to help them expand and grow over the next few years and be able to build equity and get to farm ownership. They believe their strengths are their financial skills, being able to run and control their business, along with passion for their cows.
TO PAGE 2
WE’VE GOT BUYERS WAITING BAYLEYS COUNTRY PORTFOLIO OUT NOW
AUTUMN
Find your perfect rural or lifestyle property in the latest edition of Bayleys’ Country. Showcasing opportunities across New Zealand, this issue connects buyers with the land while exploring key industry insights, including the shift beyond traditional farming as landowners diversify into higher-value land uses, and the continued demand for premium lifestyle properties as more buyers seek a quieter way of life. For your copy of Bayleys’ Country portfolio, contact the Bayleys Canterbury Country Sales Manager.
Beyond the boom
Rural landowners are increasingly diversifying land use to capture high-value opportunities.
Future perfect
Demand for a quieter lifestyle is driving strong interest in premium lifestyle properties nationwide.
Kevin Jenkins 027 577 4232
89 93 FEATURING
COUNTRY SALES MANAGER
FARM, SPECIALTY FARM, SPECIALTY AND LIFESTYLE AND LIFESTYLE PROPERTIES FOR SALE PROPERTIES FOR SALE ISSUE 2 – 2025 ISSUE 1 – 2026
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