PLANS TO establish a state-of-the-art food technology and production hub in the small North Waikato township of Kerepehi have moved closer – with several large blocks of bare land with development potential being placed on the market.

THE HIGH Court has rejected an appeal by four companies and four individuals who were convicted and fined $601,900 for selling visiting Asian tourists imported alpaca goods as "Made in New Zealand", and making claims that duvets were 100% alpaca or merino wool when they were not.

THE SOUTH Island auction this week comprising 6100 bales saw an 86% clearance and a generally solid market overall, NZ Wool Services International general manager, John Dawson, reports.

THE FAO Food Price Index decreased for a fourth consecutive month in July mainly due to a sharp decline in international prices for maize, wheat and certain oilseeds, reflecting ample supplies for these commodities.

AUSTRALIAN CATTLE numbers have fallen, but the tightening supply is pushing farmgate prices up.

A DRAFT plan to allow North America to cope with an outbreak of, say, foot-and-mouth disease, without shutting down the continent’s cattle trade has won US backing from the National Milk Producers Federation.

PRICES LEAPT at today's South Island wool sale driven by market shortage and strong demand, says New Zealand Wool Services International.

FONTERRA HAS reduced its forecast farmgate milk price for the 2014/15 season from $7 to $6/kgMS and announced an estimated dividend range of 20-25 cents per share

ALLIANCE GROUP chief executive Grant Cuff will be stepping down in December, following the company's annual meeting.

IN A MARKETING success for Zespri, more than 1000 people took part in an Zespri 'Juicy Water Fight' in Shanghai to celebrate the launch of Zespri SunGold Kiwifruit in China this season.