On the Canterbury plains there's a sea change underway in dairying, a challenge of something new.

Fonterra earnings and profit are well up for the first half of this financial year.

Fonterra chairman John Wilson says he is absolutely confident dairying will recover back to sustainable pricing levels for farmers.

Fonterra Shareholders' Council chairman, Duncan Coull, said today's interim results announcement was in line with forecasts, and the expectations of the council.

Over the last few years more Hawke's Bay wineries have been adding bubbles to their range and their reasons for doing so may be as varied as the wine region itself.

Fonterra doesn't believe it will take much to change the global dairy market, but it expects very little change this year.

Horticulture has "the brightest future of all" in New Zealand's primary industries, according to Mike Petersen, special agricultural trade envoy.

The first slices of cheese have rolled off the new slice on slice line at Fonterra Eltham, in Taranaki.

Fonterra chief executive Theo Spierings says dairy exports and imports have been imbalanced for the past 18 months.

Sheep and beef farmers, especially in the South Island, are going to take a substantial hit in their incomes this year as lamb prices weaken.