ENTRIES IN THE 2014 New Zealand Dairy Industry Awards are running neck-and-neck with last year.

THE GOVERNMENT Primary Growth Partnership (PGP) scheme, currently under investigation by the Auditor-General, is failing to stem the tide of a declining red meat sector, says Damien O'Connor, Labour spokesperson for primary industries.

SIGNIFICANT WORK is already underway to address water quality issues raised by the Parliamentary Commissioner for the Environment, DairyNZ says.

NEW ZEALAND IS undergoing huge changes to land use and decision makers need to be aware of the consequences for the future, says the Parliamentary Commissioner for the Environment, Dr Jan Wright.

RURAL CONTRACTORS NZ and Federated Farmers may have different memberships and goals, but they share a close and mutually beneficial relationship, says RCNZ president Steve Levet.

PRICES RECEIVED BY New Zealand producers, as measured by the output producers price index (PPI), rose 2.4% in the September 2013 quarter, Statistics New Zealand says.

FEDERATED FARMERS has produced a practical all-in-one electronic document to help dairy farmers to navigate and simplify the process to hire migrant workers.

FONTERRA IS comfortable with putting all its eggs in one basket when it comes to trade with China.

THE ANZ Bank’s head of agri and commercial, Graham Turley, says farmers appear to be concentrating on profitability, which will help mitigate some of the Reserve Bank’s concern about the high level of debt in the dairy sector.

PRIMARY INDUSTRIES Minister Nathan Guy, launching the proposals, says the recent drought focused attention on the importance of water to the national economy.