Farmers are urging banks to take a long term view of their businesses, now under growing pressure to improve their balance sheets.

Finance Minister Bill English says it turns out that the country is not as dependent on the dairy industry as we thought.

NZ's financial system is resilient and functions effectively, but risks to the financial stability outlook have increased further in the past six months.

Fonterra doesn't believe it will take much to change the global dairy market, but it expects very little change this year.

The Reserve Bank today reduced the Official Cash Rate (OCR) by 25 basis points to 2.25%.

Global dairy prices are unlikely to start rising until later this year, weighed down by European production and global economic uncertainty, says Fonterra chairman John Wilson.

While dairy faces another tough year, Rabobank foresees a generally strong year ahead for most other agricultural sectors.

The world economy has veered into difficult and dangerous waters, suggesting 2016 will be a long hard year of slow recovery in prices in global food commodity markets, including dairy.

Analysts are now picking a dairy price recovery by the end of the year. Haven't they said that for the last three years?

Federated Farmers says today's signing of the TPP is a significant milestone for the New Zealand economy.