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Cultivar trials flawed here and abroad

CROP VARIETY testing systems the world over are inherently misleading and New Zealand's are no exception, says a leading wheat breeder.

Halal deal opens Muslim markets

THE BEEF industry is hoping to make new inroads into the tricky but potentially huge halal market this year including regaining some of its former $31 million trade to Malaysia.

US beef needs traceability

US CATTLE producers are risking a lucrative export industry by dragging their heels on cattle identification (ID) and traceability systems compared with other beef exporting countries and beef importers.

Several factors in NZ’s favour

HISTORICALLY, THE commodities New Zealand exports tend to come under pressure during periods of global duress and uncertainty. Based on this, you'd currently expect New Zealand's key commodity exports to be falling in price. Certainly, the past few months have seen commodity prices ease, but from extraordinary highs, and not as much as other markets.

Editorial: Curly questions post Crafar

WHAT LESSONS can New Zealand Inc take from the whole sorry saga of the Crafar Farms?

Science funding impacts impartiality

In the rural sector, many advisors and representatives are rewarded for the custom they bring in and the services/product they sell. Who then is the impartial advisor?

Courts clear on trustee duties

RECENT COURT decisions make it clear our courts are placing a far greater emphasis on trustees duties and obligations in relation to family trusts than was once the case.

The drill does make a difference

CAN A no-tillage drill affect crop yield? Five years of data from the Foundation for Arable Research (FAR) 'Arable Cultivation Trial' at Chertsey, Canterbury, suggest 'yes' is the answer to that question.

Seeking a better succession strategy

SIMON WALKER and his wife Louise are the fourth generation to farm Ross na Clonagh just out of Pahiatua in the Tararua District. The name of the property dates back to Simon's great grandfather who left Ireland aged 17 in the 1880s and soon acquired the property by ballot.

Patience pays with uninterested pups

A WOMAN phoned the other day worried that a heading pup she had bought off me showed no interest in sheep.

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Taranaki salmonella spike mystery

VETERINARIANS IN Taranaki are perplexed by an upsurge in the number of cows contracting disease salmonella in the past year. So far 16 cases have been reported in the region and this is the first time the disease has been this widespread in the Stratford area.