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With the payout down and dry conditions looming, what's the last thing dairy farmers need now? An ageing political mouth with an overactive media secretary using the industry to try to make political capital.
Winston Peters' office issues a constant stream of drivel to the media these days, including a doom-and-gloom missive off the back of the GDT result last week, saying the sky was falling, and blaming the "gummint" but offering no solutions or ideas.
This is the man who opposes free trade deals, but then insists we should be free trading with Russia while Putin is complicit in the Syrian war and the Malaysian plane going down over Ukraine.
Ageing All Blacks are not the only ones who should be retiring.
OPINION: At Fieldays this year, one theme kept surfacing across the sector: global shocks are no longer something that happens “over there”. They are now translating quickly into local, farm-level impacts through increasingly complex and connected channels.
OPINION: After all the criticism that Winston Peters leveled at the India/NZ FTA, it seemed just a trifle ironic to the Hound that the first NZ politician to visit India after Prime Minister Modi's visit was a member of the Ewe Zealand First party.
A milk glut around the world shows no sign of easing, putting downward pressure on farmgate milk prices for the next few months.
OPINION: The Green Party’s rivers and oceans policy may have a new name but nothing else has changed.
Associate Agriculture Minister Mark Patterson says his party – NZ First - isn’t opposed to the “trade element” of a free trade deal with India.
A Palmerston North shearer has been sentenced to six months' community detention and 12 months' supervision after being found to have physically abused three lambs while shearing them.
Power Farming has launched a joint venture in Southland.
Food rescue charity Meet the Need has released its 2025/26 Impact Report, revealing a record year of growth alongside a stark warning: demand for food support across New Zealand is rising faster than supply can keep up.
As we move into the second half of 2026, the Tractor and Machinery Association (TAMA) reports that Year-to-Date figures ending June 30 saw new tractor deliveries hitting 1,386 units or 10.7% ahead of the same period in 2025.
The avocado sector is entering the new season with a larger crop and positive market opportunities.
New Zealand growers have always adapted to changing conditions, but one challenge is steadily gaining ground across the horticulture sector: resistance.
OPINION: The Irish dairy sector is facing a new dilemma - maintaining year-round fresh milk supplies.
OPINION: Could beef cows play an increasingly important role in improving profitability and resilience on hill country farms?
