Oamaru-based artisan cheesemaker Whitestone Cheese has been named Dairy Champion for the second time in the Outstanding NZ Food Producer Awards.

Two years ago, sharemilking brothers Sumit Kamboj and Manoj Kumar created history by becoming the first siblings to win the Share Farmers of the Year title in the New Zealand Dairy Industry Awards.

As costs of production soar and cow numbers decline, more dairy farmers need to take advantage of the technologies available to identify the best animals to rear and mate, ensuring they use their investment in livestock wisely.

Some good news on the horizon for dairy farmers.

DairyNZ chairman Jim van der Poel says science and farmer innovation will once again find solutions to challenges facing the dairy sector.

Already an emerging leader in alternative fuels for use in tractors with its T6 Methane tractor, New Holland recently raised its stake in the rapidly emerging sector by taking a majority interest in Bennamann, a company specialising in methane capture.

North Canterbury farmer Roscoe Taggart has reduced his use of nitrogen fertiliser by approximately 80 kilograms this season through trialling a Yara N sensor.

Dairy

Rabobank's latest Rural Confidence survey has found that while farmers' sentiments are still in deeply negative territory, they have crept up from historic lows in late 2022.

OPINION: The Hound notes how Fonterra proudly boasted about participating in Auckland's recent Pride Parade.