Don't get hoodwinked by political 'wannabes'.

No Federated Farmers conference would be complete without the injection of a little politics.

OPINION: It was Federated Farmers' turn last week to play host to another round in the battle for rural votes in the upcoming October elections.

Dairy prices have fallen to three-year lows thanks to strong supply and weak demand, mainly for whole milk powder (WMP) from China.

Federated Farmers president, Wayne Langford says it was good to hear from the politicians and to learn more about international trade and consumer trends from other keynote speakers at last week's NZ Primary Industries Summit.

The leaders of Labour and National took up the challenge to win rural voters in a head-to-head clash at last week's Federated Farmers annual conference in Wellington.

The medium term prospects for the meat and wool sector are gloomy based on the numbers in the latest MPI Situation and Outlook for Primary Industries (SOPI) report.

Zespri's latest kiwifruit to hit overseas and domestic markets, RubyRed, has become the beacon that lights up the start of the kiwifruit season.

New Zealand's farm production systems are under close scrutiny from countries buying primary products from us.

Alliance Group and in-market Chinese partner Grand Farm have committed to a significant expansion of the co-operative's grass-fed lamb, mutton, beef and venison across China.