The cost and benefits of planting trees to help mitigate environmental effects of dairy farming need to be shared by us all for it to succeed, a new study says.

Recently there has been a lot of negative news and comment about economic conditions in China – the slowing growth, a volatile stock market and the decrease in dairy imports.

Well, it was supposed to be a dry summer, but all it has done here in Northland is rain!

Rural News asked the country's second biggest meat processor and exporter – Alliance Group – about the current woes in the red meat sector.

Beef + Lamb NZ remains confident about the future of the NZ sheep farming sector, but admits there is good reason for current negativity.

Synlait Milk has dropped forecast milk price for the 2015 -16 season from $5/kgMS to $4.20/kgMS.

Red meat farmers say their current onfarm returns are not sustainable.

Ian Proudfoot, head of agribusiness at KPMG, gives his predictions for 2016.

Dairy farmers are being urged to make their businesses resilient around a $5/kgMS payout for the next few years.

The drop in the forecast farmgate milk price from Fonterra will reduce overall dairy revenues by a further $800 million, says DairyNZ.