Cuddling cows
OPINION: Years of floods and low food prices have driven a dairy farm in England's northeast to stop milking its cows and instead charge visitors to cuddle them.
OPINION: Farmer protests have swept Europe in recent weeks.
From Paris to Brussels and from Madrid to Warsaw, thousands of farmers have taken to the city streets on their tractors demanding action on cheap supermarket prices and what they say is unfair competition from abroad.
Ag ministers from across the EU pledged to do more to cut red tape and help farmers, but there’s no end in sight to the mayhem.
In fact, things got a bit out of hand last week: farmers broke through a blockade in Brussels to enter the European Quarters as EU ag ministers met for a summit.
In Belgium, police blockades were sprayed with cow effluent by angry farmers.
Farmers are hoping that there will come a time when police would have to pick a side and hope they choose wisely.
Holstein Friesian excellence was front and centre at the 2025 Holstein Friesian NZ (HFNZ) Awards, held recently in Invercargill.
The work Fonterra has done with Ballance Agri-Nutrients Ltd, LIC and Ravensdown to save farmers time through better data connections has been recognised with a national award.
This past week has seen another round of negotiations between India and New Zealand to produce a free trade agreement (FTA) between the two countries.
Cautiously optimistic is how DairyNZ's regional manager for the lower North Island, Mark Laurence describes the mood of farmers in his patch.
The Infrastructure Commission has endorsed a plan by Chorus to expand fibre broadband to 95% of New Zealand much to the delight of rural women.
Questions are being raised about just how good the state of the dairy industry is - especially given that the average farmgate payout for the coming season is set to exceed $10/kgMS.