Be afraid
OPINION: Your old mate hears some of the recent uptick in farmer confidence has slipped since the political polls started leading a bit to the left, away from the current coalition of National, Act and NZ First.
OPINION: With media putting so much effort into covering the issue of children not really liking the school lunch they never asked for in the first place, it's understandable they've paid little if any attention to the looming threat to the NZ economy - bird flu.
Since 2022, bird flu outbreaks have affected over 166 million birds in the US, making eggs more valuable than gold and crossing over to dairy cattle.
While the H5N1 strain has not yet infected humans, concerns remain.
The US has its 'best' people on it: US Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. thinks farmers should "let it run through the flock" to identify birds with natural immunity.
Actual expert and a former state veterinarian Dr Gail Hansen says this is "a really terrible idea" that would give the virus "5 million chances" to mutate into a more dangerous form.
Funding is proving crucial for predator control despite a broken model reliant on the goodwill of volunteers.
A major milestone on New Zealand's unique journey to eradicate Mycoplasma bovis could come before the end of this year.
We're working through it, and we'll get to it.
The debate around New Zealand's future in the Paris Agreement is heating up.
A technical lab manager for Apata, Phoebe Scherer, has won the Bay of Plenty 2025 Young Grower regional title.
Following heavy rain which caused flooding in parts of Nelson-Tasman and sewerage overflows in Marlborough, the Insurance & Financial Services Ombudsman Scheme (IFSO Scheme) is urging homeowners and tenants to be cautious when cleaning up and to take the right steps to support claims.