Kia ora and welcome to August.
We’re in the thick of winter and the Gore region is definitely feeling it this year.
For a lot of farmers, calving season is in full swing and I know they will have been doing it tough with some of the recent weather.
Hopefully the calving lottery of bull versus heifer favours the latter for a lot of farms, and it’s all worth the hard mahi those farmers have put in.
Relatedly, some great news on the topic of cows came last week inthe form of the worldfirst eradication of M. bovis right on track.
New Zealand has no known farm infections and it’s thanks to the combined efforts of both the primary sector and the government over five years that we’ve reached this milestone achievement.
On to the arts — I mentioned the Hokonui Fashion Awards in my column last month, and it looks like it turned out yet again to be a cracker of an event.
With a 600-strong turnout, it was a feast for the eyes for any fashionista wanting to see what’s next coming into vogue.
Congratulations to all the winners, participants and organisers for strutting your stuff out there in Gore for the 35th year running.
After the unfortunate news of H&J Smith’s looming closure, it was relieving to hear the Gore branch will be taken over by Longbeach Holdings Ltd.
Ensuring continuity for the store and staff is fantastic news and will bring peace of mind to all those who may have been affected, both for employees and the community as a whole.
I hope we can see the new store thrive in the future.
The shopping scene in Gore is a flourishing one, and I’m sure many locals will be pleased knowing that it will continue to do so, just under new management.
Finally to close, this is my last column for The Ensign until the election, so it is over and out from me for now.
I wish you all the best until then, and sincerely hope to see some of you while I’m out and about onthe campaign trail.
Māuri Ora.
