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…
Recent
$7/kgMS opening forecast!
Fonterra has announced an opening forecast Farmgate Milk Price of $7/kgMS for the 2018/19 season starting June 1.
Milk price up, dividend down for this season
Fonterra farmers will get an extra 20c/kgMS for milk supplied to the co-op this season.
Farming leaders and Govt progress towards Mycoplasma bovis decision
Farming leaders and the Government met again today to discuss ways to combat Mycoplasma bovis.
Farmers told to protect stock from disease this Gypsy Day
With Gypsy Day around the corner, stock and equipment will be moving between properties, so farmers need to ensure they…
National
Slight rise in WMP price
Whole milk powder (WMP) price rose slightly in the overnight Global Dairy Trade (GDT) auction.
Browns win gold for sustainability
Matamata farmers Edward (Wynn) and Tracy Brown are the inaugural winners of the Fonterra Farm Source Responsible Dairying Award.
Duncans scoop Share Farmer of the Year title
Northland farmers Daniel and Gina Duncan are the 2018 Share Farmers of the Year.
Dairy industry’s big night looms
The gumboots have been put away and the shoes have been shined in anticipation of the dairy industry’s most prestigious…
World
Oz milk yield up
Australian dairy farmers produced an estimated 650 million litres in March, an increase of 2% on March 2017.
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 Steve Spencer.
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 year.
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 ago.
Sourcing better deals in Oz
Fonterra says its launch of Farm Source in Australia is another way of growing its partnership with farmer suppliers.
Opinion
Strange days for US dairy
The US dairy industry is now facing a challenging, unpredictable future under Trump.
Why Feds went down the GE track — Editorial
The latest Environment Court decision that brutally cut Federated Farmers’ bid to stop regional councils banning GMOs hopefully puts an…
Smarter farming needs nutrient efficiency
Tough questions are confronting everybody involved in food creation in New Zealand.
Kiwi farmers’ food validity at stake
As we stare down the barrel of a global consumer revolution we need to be brave to tell them what…
Agribusiness
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.
Farmers part of Lely DNA – boss
Seventy years since inception, dairy automation company Lely remains a big influence on farming worldwide.
Natural health a winner for firm
The Hamilton dairy biotech company Quantec won the supreme award at the recent Natural Health Products NZ annual awards in…
Co-op’s butter award spreads a hat trick
It's official: Australia’s best butter is made at Fonterra’s Cobden site in Victoria.
Synlait linking with Massey for R&D
Independent dairy processor Synlait is to set up an R&D centre at Massey University, Palmerston North.
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.
UK-made cattle bolus now sold in NZ
UK company Agrimin Ltd, maker of trace element boluses for cattle and sheep, has launched its products in New Zealand…
Dog on weed a friend to all
Invercargill dog trainer John Taylor has been in demand in the Waikato and other districts using his 8-year-old border collie…
Blazing the trail for OAD Jerseys
Converting a sheep and beef farm to dairy and going once-a-day milking has proven good decision-making by Jersey breeders Matthew…
Farm Health
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…
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…
New season’s maize silage
Last month I wrote about the likely impact of this growing season on maize silage quality, i.e. that relatively short…
Phosphorus heads off fodder beet problems
After 16 years experience of feeding fodder beet to his dairy cows, Brendon Woods says he would hate to be…
Stock feed prices on the rise – get sorted early
Thirty years ago who would have predicted that one of the many spin-offs of ‘Globalisation’ was the evolution of the…
Machinery & Products
75 years, one million engines
AGCO is this year celebrating the 75th anniversary of AGCO Power, its engine business.
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 /…
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…
Bends but doesn’t break
Arriving just in time for recent regional field days, the new Kawasaki Mule range bears the title Mule PRO-FXR.
Off-roader from elsewhere
For people looking for an off-road vehicle for their agriculture or a lifestyle property, the Kymco range of quads and…
Motoring
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…
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…
Graphite edition adds value
A limited-edition Holden Colorado — just 100 units nationwide — will become the prized possession of a select bunch of…
‘RS’ might mean ‘really sharp’
Buying a house, horse or car is often about first impressions, so the first look at the Skoda Octavia RS…
T60 takes on the big boys
LDV distributor Great Lake Motors says it expects to shake up New Zealand’s ute market with its new LDV T60.
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Milking It
Oat deer!
Vegan oat milk is so popular in the US that coffee shops are running out of stock.
Top meaty facts
The Great British Beef Week, organised by UK Ladies in Beef, emphasises the nation’s locally produced food. Here are some…
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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’.