Fruit and vegetable growers are warning their produce will be left unpicked and rotting in the fields unless the Government approves urgent visas for overseas workers.

A group of Fonterra shareholders are having another go at next month’s annual meeting to force a revamp of the troubled Shareholders Council.

New research shows that New Zealand sheep and beef farms are already offsetting the majority of their agricultural emissions.

The forecast milk payout for this season has gone up by 40c and Fonterra farmers can thank Chinese consumers.

Southland Federated Farmers vice president Bernadette Hunt says she finds it “interesting” that Environment Minister David Parker continues to downplay the feedback on the Government’s freshwater regulations.

Irrigation New Zealand has appointed former DairyNZ manager Vanessa Winning as its new chief executive.

Fonterra Shareholders Council chairman James Barron says the council supports the recommendations of a review into its role and functions.

Allied Farmers is forking out $2.5 million for a new scheme under which rural land will be bought and then leased to successful farm operators.

Two farmers have been fined for failing to register animals under the National Animal Identification and Tracing (NAIT) scheme.

The first batch of overseas drivers for local agricultural contracting work is expected in the country next week, says Rural Contractors New Zealand (RCNZ) chief executive Roger Parton.