Although many people on the planet are willing to pay more for New Zealand produce, productive land to grow that food and fibre is becoming unavailable here in our own backyard.

The farmer co-operative says it is committed to educating and upskilling the next generation of leaders in the agricultural industry.

Ravensdown has appointed Garry Diack as its new chief executive, replacing Greg Campbell who has held the position at the farmer-owned co-operative for the past eight years.

Finnish software company Mtech Digital Solutions has launched the SimplyCow mobile application, said to be an easy-to-use tool that allows herd management and animal recording without extensive software systems.

Farmers in regions facing dry or extremely dry conditions are being urged to tap into the resources available to them through their industry good organisations and MPI (Ministry for Primary Industries).

Winter forage grazing is used extensively in the South Island as a low-cost system to feed dairy cows and build body condition prior to calving in late winter.

The Australian dairy goat industry is relatively small, but there is an increasing consumer demand for healthy and exotic dairy products.

In a region increasingly prone to drought, being able to reduce the amount of water being used in your dairy shed by 50% is a massive win.

From time to time, I get calls from anxious growers who, for whatever reason, have been unable to sell all their maize.

Farmers considering using lucerne as a flushing feed going into ewe mating should be cautious, especially if the weather has been wet and warm.