Demand for genuine New Zealand mānuka is holding. Supply is tightening. Beekeeper numbers have fallen. The people still standing are the ones who'll shape what comes next.

Four days at Mystery Creek, alongside 132,000-odd others who came through the gates (a 20% jump on last year, and the strongest turnout in five). If you needed a signal that the rural sector is feeling optimistic again, that was it.

Mānuka Orchard's, Logan Bowyer, will be speaking at this year’s Fieldays Tent Talks on the topic: “The Future of Mānuka: Why the Best Years Are Ahead."

Rural areas that may have once been considered secondary - regenerating scrub blocks, steeper country, or land that has never quite fit within a traditional farming system - are now being recognised for their role in supporting mānuka honey production.