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: While Reserve Bank boss Adrian Orr is sticking to his 'abundance of caution' messaging, the economy is in tatters and the jungle drums beat ever louder for an OCR cut no later than November (to be clear, that's Nov 2024, not 2025!).
ANZ was one of the first banks to put a November date on it, and other banks, via their various economic newsletters and missives, are slowly aligning themselves with that view.
Milking It reckons it can't come soon enough.
The economic data reported faithfully each quarter by the media is always dated and therefore out of step with what's happening on the ground.
Out here in the real world, businesses are failing and need interest rate relief right now.
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.