By Maja Burry of RNZ.
A Waikato business has started a tractor training academy in response to the labour shortages being created by the Covid-19 pandemic.
The five-day courses run by Ag Drive near Cambridge are being supported by the Ministry of Social Development.
Ag Drive's Ben Harris said the department was funding the courses for those who had lost their jobs due to Covid-19 - as well as people on a benefit - as a way of getting more New Zealand workers into the agricultural sector.
There was looming shortage of rural contract workers for the upcoming season because of the border being closed, Harris said.