Horticulture New Zealand commissioned Consumer NZ to do an independent survey of consumers, asking if they wanted mandatory country of origin labelling on fruit and vegetables. Seventy-one per cent of those surveyed said they did. Interestingly, more...... Read More

When everyone in the farming industry is either hurting, or at least feeling like it might be their turn soon, it’s easy to let rip. And at the moment, the dairy industry resembles a ­barn door and therefore an easy target. What’s important...... Read More

It occurs to me that there is a lot happening in the world as people go away from globalisation and back to identifying with their own continent and ethnicity. Is it the Brexit and Trumpet effect? Everywhere in New Zealand there seems to be this Kiwi...... Read More

Weird is the only way to describe the weather of the last six months. It was a weird, cold wet spring, a weird unpredictable summer. And now it looks like a weird and very wet autumn. The winds first blew from the west Southwest and then we finally got...... Read More

Phosphorus is recognised as one of the four contaminants Waikato Regional Council’s Plan Change 1 and other councils are seeking to reduce. And although much fuss has been made of nitrogen, in the Waikato region the majority of waterways are more...... Read More

First we had traceability, then sustainability, threatening our ability to sell overseas. Now we’ve also got protectionism, whatever that turns out to mean. One thing it is bound to mean is our export products will have to stand up to whatever...... Read More

Soil carbon – you can build it or burn it – but it’s the very thing we rely on for our survival. Without it there is no plant growth as we know it, and as its being diminished less nutrient and moisture is available for plant uptake. Any...... Read More

Remember when we milked a house cow out in the paddock sitting on an old wooden stool using a stainless steel bucket jammed between our knees? And when walk-through cowsheds had that special smell and we cleaned up the yard by scooping the muck up with...... Read More

The link between the November Kaikoura earthquake and feed prices for North Island farmers might not be immediately obvious – but there is one, and it could prove costly. The ongoing harsh dry conditions throughout the country, not to mention the...... Read More

In his first major announcement of election year, Prime Minister Bill English has unveiled a significant government investment in Police and the wider justice sector to reduce crime and keep our communities safe. The $500 million Safer Communities package...... Read More

Both rye grass and paspalum plants can cause similar neurological conditions – commonly referred to as staggers – as opposed to ‘grass staggers’ – which relates to low magnesium in livestock soon after birth. These two fungal-neurotoxin...... Read More

Horticulture is growing. Exports grew 40 per cent in the two years from 2014 to 2016. This growth is supported by an increasing workforce made up of permanent Kiwi workers and seasonal workers. Research New Zealand recently released a report about this. This...... Read More

Financewith Don Fraser Fraser Farm Finance The world has changed forever. Globalisation is now threatening the people and they are voting against bureaucracy, control and the money in their countries, going into the hands of a few. Donald Trump’s...... Read More

Beneath the surfacewith David Lawof Forward Farming A lot can be learned or assumed by a slow drive down a farmer’s tanker track, particularly if cattle are close enough to observe. To a trained eye, the state of their health is very noticeable...... Read More

Robin BoomAgronomic Advisory Services The week before Christmas both Ballance and Ravensdown dropped their prices on some imported products – and for the farmer it just keeps getting better. In my 27 years of providing independent fertiliser...... Read More

What can you say, when you realise that soluble synthetic minerals are the cause of toxic nutrient leaching into the environment? You can say: ‘Ban all soluble, synthetic, toxic minerals!’ The farmers are being blamed for this problem. As...... Read More

Bill WebbFeed SolutionsOutlook Many dairy farmers have responded to the drop in payout by taking long hard looks at their businesses and making savings of between $1 kg/ms and $1.20 per kg/ms, according to DairyNZ’s figures. DairyNZ also...... Read More

Stock Sensewith Paul McKeeRavensdown Technical Manager Insect Growth Regulators have been revolutionary chemicals in the management of flystrike in sheep. These chemicals (cyromazine, dicyclanil, triflumuron and diflubenzuron) work by interfering...... Read More

Vet’s VisionPhil RennieTauranga Vets A recently published peer reviewed study has thrown new light on the common pitfalls of facial eczema control in New Zealand. The full article was released in the ‘The New Zealand Veterinary Journal’...... Read More