Microsoft Copilot for farming, horticulture and forestry
Larger farming, orchard and forestry businesses often run their office on Microsoft 365.
- Share of NZ employees
- 4.8%about 118,000 people, Feb 2025
- Highest local share
- 38%Ōpōtiki, Bay of Plenty
- Highest region
- 21%Tasman, 4,900 employees
Where we start
Larger farming, orchard and forestry businesses often run their office on Microsoft 365. Copilot helps with the admin that sits between the paddock and the packhouse.
Excel for season data
Ask Copilot in Excel to compare picks, yields or labour hours across seasons, and build the chart for the board pack.
Teams meeting recaps
Get recaps of grower, contractor and staff meetings with actions assigned, so nothing gets lost during harvest.
Compliance documents in Word
Draft audit responses and procedures from your existing SharePoint documents instead of starting blank.
Take care: Copilot is only as good as your files. Tidy SharePoint and Teams first so it finds the current version.
Where the jobs are
Farming, horticulture and forestry accounts for 4.8% of paid employees in New Zealand. These are the towns and regions where its share is highest. Towns need at least 400 employees to be ranked.
Towns with the highest share of jobs in farming and horticulture
| Town | Chart | Share | NZ |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ōpōtiki | 37.5% | 4.8% | |
| Kirwee | 34.8% | 4.8% | |
| Te Puke | 29.7% | 4.8% | |
| Winton | 19.7% | 4.8% | |
| Paerata | 17.9% | 4.8% | |
| Katikati | 15.4% | 4.8% | |
| Methven | 15.3% | 4.8% | |
| Coromandel | 15.0% | 4.8% | |
| Mataura | 13.2% | 4.8% | |
| Waiheke West | 12.2% | 4.8% |
Share of paid employees at business locations in the town. The tick marks the national share.
Source: Stats NZ, Business Demography Statistics, February 2020 and 2025.
By region
| Region | Chart | Share | NZ |
|---|---|---|---|
| Tasman | 20.7% | 4.8% | |
| Gisborne | 19.5% | 4.8% | |
| Marlborough | 16.1% | 4.8% | |
| Southland | 15.1% | 4.8% | |
| Hawke's Bay | 13.2% | 4.8% | |
| Bay of Plenty | 8.6% | 4.8% | |
| Waikato | 8.3% | 4.8% | |
| Otago | 7.9% | 4.8% | |
| Manawatū-Whanganui | 7.6% | 4.8% | |
| West Coast | 7.3% | 4.8% | |
| Taranaki | 7.2% | 4.8% | |
| Northland | 6.8% | 4.8% | |
| Canterbury | 5.0% | 4.8% | |
| Nelson | 5.0% | 4.8% | |
| Wellington | 1.1% | 4.8% | |
| Auckland | 0.7% | 4.8% |
Source: Stats NZ, Business Demography Statistics, February 2020 and 2025.
Courses
1Introductory
Microsoft 365 Copilot foundations
Hands-on Copilot across Outlook, Teams, Word, Excel and PowerPoint, using your own everyday tasks.
2Organisation
Copilot rollout and readiness
Plan a Copilot rollout that pays for its licences: permissions hygiene, sensitivity labels, pilot groups, champions and adoption measurement.
3Advanced
Copilot Studio agents and advanced Excel
Build agents in Copilot Studio over your own content and processes, automate the actions with Power Automate, and get more from Copilot in Excel.
Other industries
Questions
Is Microsoft Copilot safe to use in farming and horticulture?
With the right plan and rules, yes for most tasks. Copilot is only as good as your files. Tidy SharePoint and Teams first so it finds the current version.
Can training use our own farming and horticulture examples?
Yes. We ask for a few real, non-sensitive examples beforehand, or anonymised versions, and build the exercises around them.
Train your farming and horticulture team
- ScopeHeadcount, sites, Microsoft 365 plan and licences, and the teams you want to start with.
- PlanWe propose a course, a pilot group and a format, and agree the files and meetings to use.
- TrainOn-site or over Teams, in Outlook, Word, Excel and Teams, with your own work.
- In person
- Remote
- Half-day workshop
- Full-day workshop
- Team rollout
Independent training by TheColab. Not affiliated with Microsoft.
Enquire
Tell us about your team. We reply by email with a suggested course and format.