The effects of an El Nino this summer – if it hits – will not necessarily be the same as during the last one in the late 1990s because of changes to farming practices, says Beef + Lamb NZ chief economist Andrew Burtt.

New zealand beef export returns reached a record high, exceeding lamb and mutton returns for the first time in 20 years in the season ending September 30, analysis by Beef + Lamb New Zealand's economic service shows.

The future of farmer lobby Meat Industry Excellence is up for discussion, says chairman Peter McDonald.

Most of the major banks are predicting a drop between 4% and 8% – much higher than Fonterra's current forecast of a 2-3% fall.

Claims that Silver Fern Farms approached the Government for funding and/or sought a meeting with Finance Minister Bill English for over a year have been debunked by the co-op's chair Rob Hewett.

Milk prices should keep rising given the scenario of falling NZ milk production.

When French farmers are unhappy they take to the streets. Last week, 1000 tractors rolled into Paris as French farmers tried to clog up the capital’s roads in protest at plummeting food prices.

Weather in the coming months will determine the size of the drop in milk production, says Federated Farmers Dairy president Andrew Hoggard.

It's important to have at least one cooperative in the meat industry, says a senior lecturer in agribusiness management at Lincoln University.

New Zealand is rapidly closing on filling its beef quota to the US for the first time since 2004.