News

16 September 2026

Senior ag students at Dannevirke High School learned the basics of safe chainsaw operation in a short course delivered by Primary ITO Trades Academy recently.

10 September 2026

Dannevirke High School students are gaining hands-on farming skills and valuable real-world experience through Primary ITO Trades Academy, leading to employment and cadetship opportunities.

28 August 2026

Congratulations to Ben Carter and Gary Thomas, joint winners of the 2026 Stockperson of the Year Award, announced at the NZ Pork conference in Christchurch recently.

26 August 2026

Recent detections of avian influenza (H5 bird flu) in New Zealand have shone a spotlight on the importance of biosecurity and poultry health across the country.

10 August 2026

Taranaki dairy farmer Brandon Hitchcock was shocked to win the LIC Apprentice of the Year title in June, after completing training as an Artificial Breeding (AB) Technician through LIC and Primary ITO.

8 July 2026

An Interim Establishment Board has been appointed to guide the organisation as it establishes an industry-owned Private Training Establishment (PTE).

22 June 2026

Fresh off a flight from the United States, Primary ITO graduate Meg Spittal took out the title of 2026 Young Amenity Horticulturalist of the Year in May.

5 June 2026

New Zealand’s future farmers, fencers, contractors and rural workers are already learning the ropes not from behind desks, but out in paddocks, yards and woolsheds across Horowhenua and Kāpiti. Photo & Article Credit: Frankie Webb, Horowhenua Chronicle

3 June 2026

Up and coming dairy farmer Mark Ready, 23, has his eyes firmly set on the future, after taking out the Dairy Trainee of the Year Award at the 2026 New Zealand Dairy Industry Awards in Rotorua in May.

18 May 2026

Twenty-six students spent a week of their school holidays soaking up farm life and learning about career pathways during the annual Primary ITO Trades Academy camp.