JAMES COURTMAN is young, ambitious and already successful.

A RECENT Small Milk and Supply Herds (SMASH) field day near the Manawatu township of Sanson attracted 50 farmers. 

ABOUT 80% of the milk sourced by Riverina Dairy factory in Albury, Australia, comes from Riverina Milk, which runs 1500 cows at Corowa.

WHEN SYNLAIT Farms was announced as a Lincoln University Foundation South Island Farmer of the Year finalist, chief executive Juliet Maclean stressed the value they place on the people in their business.

ANOTHER WEEK, another suite of big nights for North Island dairy farmers as the annual awards season gets into full swing.

Walton farmers Grant Wills and Karen Preston have scooped a string of awards in the 2013 Waikato Ballance Farm Environment Awards, including the highly coveted Supreme title.

DAIRY FARMERS in the North Island are facing a stern test. Most regions haven’t had decent rain for two months, pasture has disappeared and milk production is at a trickle.

CUTTING MILKING time by up to an hour could be a big reward for the 160-190 people who turned up to the MilkSmart seminar held at Morrinsville last Tuesday.

A LACK of good business and succession plans is causing a number of large dairy farming businesses to falter, risking collapse, says a dairy farmer who’s now regarded as an expert in this area.

CONVERTING A corner of a large-scale Southland sheep and beef unit to dairy has made the whole business more sustainable, say Andrew and Heather Tripp.