BLOODTHIRSTY ADULT TICKS are on a quest right now and farmers in the North Island in tick-prevalent areas should be checking cattle and talking to their veterinarian, say DairyNZ.

FIVE NEW NAMES have been added to the historic list of Nuffield Scholars in New Zealand.

PROMINENT MAORI businessman Kingi Smiler, responsible for some breakthrough developments in Maori agri-business, has been named Agribusiness Person of the Year by Federated Farmers.

THE GLOBAL dairy industry is seeing a reversal of fortune; after a lacklustre 2012, this year is shaping up to be an exceptional year, according to the International Dairy Federation.

MASSEY UNIVERSITY is testing a barn farm system with potential for improved productivity and better water quality on dairy farms.

WOMEN WORKING in the dairy industry are being urged to get their nominations in for the 2014 Dairy Woman of the Year award, which closes for entry on November 15, 2013.

Water use is becoming an increasingly fraught issue in Hawke’s Bay as growers along the lower reaches of the Tukituki River battle proposed new regulations they believe will threaten their future livelihoods.  

IF CHINA’s Shanghai Pengxin takes a 75% slice of Synlait Farms it will be business as usual for the cows and staff on SF’s 13 dairy properties, building on current capacity rather than rushing to add extra area, says the farms’ chief executive.

SOON MORE dairy cows will be milked in the South Island than the North, says LIC chairman Murray King.

BUTTERMILK DUMPED by Fonterra near Taupo poses no significant risk to the environment, says Waikato Regional Council.