The No. 8 Wire

New lambs at on a farm near Maraekakaho. PHOTO/Warren Buckland.

New Zealand farmer confidence in the agricultural economy has risen for the second consecutive quarter and is now at its highest level since 2013, the latest Rabobank Rural Confidence Survey has shown.

Almost half of all farmers surveyed were expecting the rural economy to improve in the coming 12 months, resulting in overall net confidence shooting up to a reading of +35 per cent from +3 per cent last survey.

The survey found the number of farmers expecting the rural economy to improve had risen to 48 per cent (up from 25 per cent last quarter), 37 per cent were expecting it to remain the same (down from 52 per cent), while only 13 per cent were expecting the agricultural economy to worsen (down from 22 per cent).

History and tradition count for a lot when planning the New Zealand Royal A&P Show but, to ensure it is relevant to today's farmers, organisers are making commercial classes a key part of the 2016 show competition programme.

The 'Royal' event, hosted as part of the annual Hawke's Bay Show in mid-October, will have commercial classes sitting alongside the traditional livestock showing classes.

Commercial classes will be offered across both the beef cattle and sheep sections this year, with the addition of the Beef + Lamb Genetics Hawke's Bay All Breed Performance Yearling Heifer and Yearling Bull classes.

These classes were trialled at Beef Expo at Manfeild in May with great success.

Hawke's Bay Show has for a number of years run the Progressive Meats Export Lamb competition and last year the show successfully launched two commercial sheep classes, the Stephenson Transport Hawke's Bay Commercial Ram Hogget Competition and an equivalent ewe hogget class, informally known as "Miss Hawke's Bay Ewe Hogget competition".

Hawke's Bay Show events manager Anna Hamilton welcomes entries from across Hawke's Bay.

• For information about the commercial classes, visit www.hawkesbayshow.co.nz for a competition schedule.
• The Royal Show is on from October 19-21.