New Zealand’s Paris target, of 30% reduction in 2005 emissions levels by 2030, is fair and ambitious, and will not be easy to reach, says Climate Change Minister Paula Bennett.

International dairy commodity prices have staged a remarkable recovery in recent months, as global supply and demand slowly return to a more balanced outlook.

Chinese national holidays could have affected last week’s Global Dairy Trade auction, in which the overall price index was down 3%, say economists.

Lovers of Hawke’s Bay Syrah won’t be surprised to learn that the region has beaten France at its own game, in an international blind tasting of the variety.

South Auckland farmer Hamish Noakes had no crystal ball four years ago when he pulled out of cow dairying and started milking goats.

EU dairy exports rose 6% in May (22,000MT) vs the same month in the previous year.

Fonterra is number-one in China in business and in reputation, claims Fonterra chief executive Theo Spierings.

NZ’s special agricultural trade envoy Mike Petersen recently completed two weeks of talks in Canada and the US advocating for the TPP and trade. He says politics dominate, but TPP is definitely moving forward.

China, the broader Asian region and the Indian subcontinent hold untapped opportunities for the red meat sector, say Meat Industry Association chief executive Tim Ritchie.

Sheep farmers desperately looking for a lift in lamb prices this coming season may be in for more disappointment, according to Alliance Group chairman Murray Taggart.