Synlait’s latest results mean the company’s sales are no longer even covering the direct cost of making and processing its products.

OPINION: Synlait's latest half-year result reveals a serious problem at the heart of the business: its core operations are no longer bringing in enough revenue to cover the cost of production.

Fonterra CEO Miles Hurrell.

OPINION: In 2018, when Fonterra’s board tapped Miles Hurrell to step in as interim chief executive, the co-operative was in the doldrums.

Next CEO

OPINION: Who will replace Miles Hurrell as Fonterra's next CEO?

Fuel Crisis

OPINION: Governments all over the world are dealing with the fuel crisis.

Blunt CEO

OPINION: Synlait's woes show no sign of ending anytime soon.

Media Obsession

OPINION: The mainstream media's obsession with (sleazy) 'tabloid' issues were to the fore at Fonterra's recent media conference to discuss its interim results.

Farmer's Chaplain Colin Miller.

OPINION: There is a lot of truth to this statement I first heard many years ago: 'The energy within is always more damaging than the enemy without'.

What A Choice!

OPINION: If you ask this old mutt, the choice at the next election isn't shaping up as a contest of good ideas, more like a choice of who's the least bad option.

Your Call!

OPINION: A mate of yours says we're long overdue for a reckoning on what value farmers really get for the $100 million plus they collectively pay in levies to DairyNZ, Beef+Lamb NZ and Deer Industry NZ (DINZ).

Dirty Pool!

OPINION: President Trump's tariff wars have torpedoed the US grain belt's biggest market, China, sending many US family farms to the wall.

Bias Blowback

OPINION: It's no surprise to this old mutt that some politicians are done playing nice with the low rent media pack that hounds them looking for a 'gotcha' moment.

Editorial: Fuelling Hype

OPINION: For some of us the threat of a fuel crisis is something we have dealt with before and are still here to tell the tale.

OPINION: Public opinion, political pragmatism and commercial and market reality have caused the Government to abandon introducing legislation into Parliament to legalise the shipment by sea of live animals - mainly cows - to overseas destinations.

OPINION: The good news keeps getting better for NZ dairy farmers.

OPINION: With export of livestock by sea dead in the water, opponents of the Gene Technology Bill think they can also force another U-turn from the Government.

OPINION: Cheaper US butter on New Zealand shelves isn't impressing everybody.

OPINION: The coalition Government seems to have chickened out when it comes to live animal exports by sea.

Hawke's Bay deer farmer Harry Gaddum organised the inaugural Gumboot Cup. It was a cricket tournament for 12 rural Hawke's Bay teams, their families, and the community. Gaddum says it was a chance for locals to get off farm, have some fun and connect, all for a good cause.

OPINION: Many sheep and beef farmers will be worse off under the new environment legislation than they were under the Resource Management Act (RMA), claims Beef+Lamb New Zealand (B+LNZ) in an email to levy payers.

OPINION: Election years are usually regarded as the silly season, but a mate of the Hound reckons 2026 is shaping up as the ‘stupid season’.

» Latest Print Issues Online

The Hound

What A Choice!

OPINION: If you ask this old mutt, the choice at the next election isn't shaping up as a contest of…

Your Call!

OPINION: A mate of yours says we're long overdue for a reckoning on what value farmers really get for the…

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