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Shutdown hits milk prices!

Major disruptions to Chinese supply chains following the lockdown in Shanghai is leading to local dairy production being redirected away from fresh milk into less perishable powders.

Havoc wreaked in parts of China by Covid is being blamed for the latest drop in whole milk powder (WMP) prices.

Trees please chooks

John Greene believes his hens are much happier than those kept on pasture.

An unusual feature of egg producer John Greene's Lakeside Free Range chicken farm, near Lincoln, is that the outdoor forage areas are planted in trees.

NZ poultry jealousy guards disease-free status

Michael Brooks says the NZ poultry industry is strongly supportive of really strong biosecurity rules on potential imports of raw products.

The current bird flu outbreak in Britain is a reminder of why it is important for New Zealand to maintain its biosecurity standards, says the local poultry industry.

Dairy farmers share solutions to attracting and keeping staff

Bay of Plenty contract milker and former DairyNZ consultant Jordyn Crouch will speak at the webinar.

DairyNZ will host a webinar on attracting and retaining farm staff in a difficult labour market on 20 April.

War in Ukraine causes grain price hikes

The war in Ukraine has led to a 17.1% rise in the FAO Cereal Price Index.

As war in Ukraine rages on, world food commodity prices have made a significant leap in March to reach their highest levels ever, the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) has reported.

Silver Fern Farms profits handsomely on strong meat prices

SFF chair Rob Hewett says despite all the challenges it experienced last year, the meat company recorded a record profit while farmers received record prices.

Strong farmgate prices for red meat have also flowed through to better returns for processor and exporter Silver Fern Farms (SFF).

Wet, wet, wet!

As of last week, some East Coast farming families are completely isolated with roads impassable.

In the eye of the storm

A big slip out the back of Mangaroa Station that took out the fence, which was noticed on the Thursday after the storm. It did have 24 sheep on it, but these were all shifted to safety. Photo: Supplied.

Typical of the farms damaged in the storm in the south of the East Coast is Mangaroa Station, owned by Nuku and Bart Hadfield - winners in 2015 of the Ahuwhenua Trophy for the top Māori sheep and beef farm.

International blackcurrant study may offer hope for diabetics

A new international clinical trial testing a molecule found in New Zealand blackcurrants may offer hope for thousands of Kiwis living with diabetes and associated metabolic disorders.

New Ravensdown chair to focus on pathways to progress

Hawke’s Bay sheep and beef farmer Bruce Wills has been elected the new chair of Ravensdown.

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The East Coast's meltdown

Bart Hadfield clearing a slip on the road to Mangaroa Station, about 60km northwest of Wairoa, following last month's flooding. Photo: Supplied.

In late March the soil just seemed to melt off the steep hillsides as unbelievably heavy rain poured down on the North Island's East Coast in what's been described as one of the biggest storms to hit the region since cyclone Bola in 1988. Peter Burke reports.