Meeting other entrants and finding out about the work everyone else was doing were highlights of the Ballance Farm Environment Awards for Waikato finalists Peter and Karen West.

The days of trekking across hill country farms to get samples of soil fertility, then blanket spreading fertiliser, are nearing their end, says Ravensdown.

Irish grasslands researcher Dr Phil Creighton is leading a project looking at new grass species to improve ewe performance and speed the growth rate of lambs.

Farming’s impact on water quality is a hot topic, especially in Canterbury.

The impact of agriculture on our environment has been a hot topic in Parliament, leading to a sense among rural people that they are under siege from urban New Zealand.

Your old mate has to chuckle at the sheer hypocrisy of some of our politicians and commentators (especially those on the left of the divide).

Speaking of dropkicks, the Hound reckons the biggest crybaby and bad loser in this year’s general election would have to be the failed, NZ First candidate for the Waikato seat Stu ‘Cry Me a River’ Husband.

Your canine crusader notes that American singer Pink is due to play concerts next year in Dunedin and Auckland.

Your old mate understands that National’s big agricultural announcement during the election campaign – about helping more young families onto their first farms by allowing them a lease-to-buy deal on Landcorp land – was a rush for all concerned.

Fonterra has been asking its staff how it could do things differently and how it could disrupt itself, says Mark Piper, the co-op’s director of group R&D.

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