Early birds catch the planting bug
Dairy farmers know early starts well. Rob and Di Bridgeman are also early finishers.
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Cambridge dairy farmer confirms M. bovis infection
Cambridge dairy farmer Henk Smit has confirmed that a herd of 330 cows, he partly owns, is infected with Mycoplasma bovis.
Technical Working Group calls for urgent climate change action
Climate Change Minister James Shaw has released the Climate Change Adaptation Technical Working Group’s (CCATWG) recommendations.
Air New Zealand failing regions — Rural Women
Rural Women New Zealand (RWNZ) is disappointed by yet another increase in airfares for the regions.
Zespri boosts grower returns despite drop in sales
Kiwifruit exporter Zespri says it has delivered an increase in value to growers, despite sales dropping 11%.
Women in Wine to establish regional committees
Northland to Central Otago and all wine regions in between are well on the way to establishing regional Women in Wine committees. And the first National Committee meeting has taken place, held in Auckland in February.
National
Deer fenced out of waterways
To keep waterways clean, deer farmers are fencing their deer out of streams.
STRESS removes headache for hill country farmers
Taranaki farmer Roger Pearce is confident he’s hit a good formula allowing him to make a successful living in the eastern Taranaki hillcountry without bringing nature’s wrath on himself
Horticulture industry scores another record breaking year
New Zealand horticulture had another record breaking year in 2017; exports reaching $5.12 billion, up $14 million from the year before.
Slight rise in WMP price
Whole milk powder (WMP) price rose slightly in the overnight Global Dairy Trade (GDT) auction.
World
Oz milk yield up
Australian dairy farmers produced an estimated 650 million litres in March, an increase of 2% on March 2017.
Fodder crisis hits Irish dairy farmers
A fodder crisis is forcing Irish dairy farmers to buy feed from other farmers around the country.
Oz dairy co-op Murray Goulburn sold
The growth of Australia’s dairy industry is now down to the two main players Fonterra and Saputo, says dairy analyst…
Oz processor attracts milk from rival
Listed Australian dairy processor Bega Cheese attracted an extra 100 million litres of milk during the second half of last…
Co-op’s hedge kept Canadians out
Canadian processor Saputo, on the verge of becoming Australia’s largest dairy player, looked at investing in New Zealand 16 years…
Opinion
Positive signs on water quality garner negativity
National river quality trends give cause for optimism, according to Land and Water Aotearoa (LAWA).
Be honest — Editorial
At times it is hard not to believe the meme that ‘Minister of Everything’ David Parker really does hate farmers…
Feds never was anti-NAIT
Some assertions made in the Rural News editorial, ‘Get with the programme’ on April 3, 2018 were unfair, wildly untrue…
Farmers are spooked — Editorial
Dairy farmers are spooked and they have every right to be.
Strange days for US dairy
The US dairy industry is now facing a challenging, unpredictable future under Trump.
Agribusiness
NZ formula makers sweet with NZ
The Ministry for Primary Industries and the New Zealand Government over time have done an excellent job of building the…
Aussie live exports under microscope
Australians’ outrage at scenes of dead and dying sheep on ships to the Middle East is forcing exporters to shape…
Screen stops effluent blocking irrigators
A new screen that allows effluent to be better applied to pastures has won IrrigationNZ’s Irrigation Innovation Award for 2018.
What US/China trade tension means for NZ ag
New Zealand agriculture may soon feel the waves from intensifying trade conflict between the US and China.
Alliance gives international chefs a taste of NZ
Alliance Group recently hosted overseas chefs and writers in an effort to differentiate its products and position itself as a…
Management
Trimming goats' hooves
Overgrown hooves can cause a lot of problems for dairy goats, including stress on joints and bacterial and fungal infections.
Keep an eye out for virus-caused disease
Caprine arthritis encephalitis (CAE) is a disease of goats caused by a virus.
No s**t Sherlock
If every farm in New Zealand used the new ClearTech system for harvesting clean water from dairy effluent, NZ would save 42 billion litres of freshwater each year.
Young Māori to the fore
Three young Māori farmers will compete in late May for the title of Young Māori Farmer of the year.
Goat milk popular globally
Worldwide, more people drink goat milk than any other.
Farm Health
Poor management aiding drench resistance
Livestock monocultures and inappropriate drenching practices are helping raise internal parasite resistance to triple combination drenches, says AgResearch.
Daily milk urea readings could help tackle N in urine
New Zealand's 4.8 million milking cows excrete 1000 tonnes of nitrogen a day in their urine, and 200 tonnes of this end up in groundwater, says CRV Ambreed.
Spare the fibre, spoil your season
With dry off date just around the corner for the vast majority of spring calving herds, it is easy to assume the next few months leading up to spring presents an opportunity to relax and take a breather.
Good autumn may lead to increased worm burden
Good Autumn growth sets the scene for maximum growth rates in beef cattle post-weaning, but beware worms in pasture, warns Paul McKee, an animal health technical manager at Ravensdown.
Calm ewes equals more lambs
A calm temperament in ewes improves ovulation rate and successful pregnancies, according to a study published by The University of Western Australia (UWA).
Machinery & Products
Perfect for tight turns, small farms
The 1012 series Gyrotedders from Kuhn is expanding with the arrival of two mounted and two trailed models (GF 8712 / 8712T and GF 10812 /10812T) with eight and 10 rotors respectively, in working widths of 8.70m and 10.80m.
75 years, one million engines
AGCO is this year celebrating the 75th anniversary of AGCO Power, its engine business.
Love affair with front-end loaders
New Zealand farmers seem to have a love affair with front-end loaders, particularly in comparison to their European counterparts who around the 100hp mark switch their allegiance to more specialised telehandlers.
Don’t rely on ‘she’ll be right’
Race and rally drivers’, do it, airplane passengers do it, even the Fonterra tanker drivers do it — so why is it that most farmers and contractors don’t appear to see the need to wear a seat belt?
Lexus teams up with Farmlands
Lexus and Farmlands, the country’s largest rural supplies co-operative, have a new partnership.
Motoring
Cool and clever Karoq arrives
Winning umpteen car-of-the-year titles in 2017 for the Kodiaq, Skoda might now be up for the double in 2018 with…
Holden Calais-V not too shabby
The question often asked about the new Commodore is, “will Aussies accept a German car as a replacement for Commodores…
Raptor will make you a stand-out
The Ford Ranger ute has been remarkably successful since its launch, but until now, wanabee Ranger owners who wanted to…
No more talking turkey for Toyota
Toyota is changing the way it sells new vehicles, notably by moving away from commission-paid sales staff and haggling over…
Winds of change blow at Hyundai
It doesn't seem too long since Hyundai was the new kid on the block, but the last decade has seen…
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The Hound
Silence is golden
The Hound notes that former ag minister Nathan Guy is settling into the role of opposition MP and having a…
Easy answer
It takes a bit to make your canine crusader raise his eyebrows at the hypocrisy of these do-gooder outfits with…
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Popular Reads
Don’t rely on ‘she’ll be right’
Race and rally drivers’, do it, airplane passengers do it, even the Fonterra tanker drivers do it — so why…
$7/kgMS opening forecast!
Fonterra has announced an opening forecast Farmgate Milk Price of $7/kgMS for the 2018/19 season starting June 1.
Unacceptable attitude at Fonterra
Former Fonterra director Leonie Guiney is not ruling out another tilt at a co-op directorship.
Rural Life
Ozone in the vineyard
The word ozone conjures up images of big holes in the atmosphere, stronger UV light, the risk of severe sunburn…
Drones versus birds
Drones may soon be joining the armoury of weapons used to scare birds away from ripening grapes after a trial…
Boss woman has earned her stripes
Nicky Hutchinson “never dreamed” of becoming ‘The Boss’.