Tackling technocrats
OPINION: Not long after I started farming, I needed some bridge stringers to cross a small, on-farm stream.
OPINION: Milking It understands the parliamentary inquiry into banking is already having an impact.
Reports are coming in of some South Island farmers being offered loans with interest rates of 5.7% and 5.8%. Just for context, most farmers are on interest rates over 8%.
Whether the banks are feeling the heat or it's just a public relations exercise remains to be seen.
Federated Farmers says the banks have a long way to go before they earn back the trust of farmers.
A Federated Farmers survey shows that farmers' satisfaction with their banks has dropped to its lowest levels since their surveys began in May 2015. Six years ago, around 80% of farmers were satisfied with their bank, but that number has since plummeted to just 51%.
A critically threatened endemic freshwater fish found only in Canterbury has been discovered at a Craigmore Sustainables farm near Timaru.
A hundred primary schools across New Zealand are now better resourced to teach their students about food and farming after winning ‘George the Farmer’ book sets in a recent competition run by rural lender, Rabobank.
Kiwifruit growers are celebrating a trifecta of industry milestones next month.
TB differential slaughter levy rates are changing with dairy animals paying $12.25/head, an increase of 75c from next month.
Taranaki's Zero Possum project has entered a new phase, featuring a high-tech farmland barrier and a few squirts of mayo.
The recent Tractor and Machinery Association (TAMA) conference in Wellington was signalling cautious optimism on the back of rising milk and store cattle prices and drops in interest rates.
OPINION: How do you get people to stop drinking milk and switch to foods like fruit, vegetables, nuts and grains?
OPINION: It seems that our friends at Greenpeace are never satisfied.