Trump tariffs
OPINION: Former politicians seem incapable of staying away from the limelight after they retire.
The National Party caucus meets next week to elect a new Prime Minister.
This follows the shock announcement by Prime Minister John Key that he is resigning from the top job.
He made the announcement at his weekly press conference this afternoon.
"This is the hardest decision I've ever made and I don't know what I'll do next,” Key told journalists in Wellington.
Key cited family reasons for leaving, saying the job had required great sacrifices "from those who are dearest to me".
Bill English is expected to take over as Prime Minister and Steven Joyce is expected to take on the finance role.
Key said he would support whoever the caucus chose, but he endorsed Bill English as his replacement.
"There's no way I could have served out a full fourth term," said Key.
Oamaru-based livestock handling specialist Te Pari has bought Combi Clamp, the New Zealand manufacturer of Combi Clamp manual sheep handlers.
Agriculture Minister Todd McClay has admitted that a scheme bringing workers from Pacific nations to work on orchards has become too hard to navigate but says changes are coming.
A new app designed in New Zealand aims to help sheep, beef and deer farmers capture, analyse and use body condition score data more effectively.
Canterbury farmer Andy Macfarlane has been appointed to the board of AgriZeroNZ, the public-private partnership designed to accelerate the development and deployment of emissions reduction tools for New Zealand farmers.
For over 50 years Mel Ewers has been supporting the apple sector navigate through compliance and quality assurance issues.
The apple sector is enjoying a bumper harvest season.

A fair question has been raised about how member-funded organisations should conduct themselves when taking a public position on any…
OPINION: It really is getting harder to lampoon government bureaucrats when they do such a good job of it themselves.…