POLICY WORK on the $150m extension to the Rural Broadband Initiative (RBI) announced just before the election is now being carried out, says Communications Minister Amy Adams.

IT IS great to see Trade Minister Tim Groser and DCANZ executive director Kimberly Crewther taking a positive stance on the news that Australia and China have signed a free trade agreement.

ORGANIC DAIRY farmers are being asked to do too many tricks for too small a treat, say disillusioned formerly certified organic dairy farmers.

INVERMAY AND AgResearch continue to be a worry. The Rural News headline ‘Call for head’s head’ reports that Minister Steven Joyce is referring stakeholder concerns about the Future Footprint Proposal (FFP) for Invermay to the AgResearch board. As the board approved the actions in the first place, the likelihood of anything changing is slim. 

INTERNATIONAL CONSUMER demand for organic food is continuing to grow, says organic certifier Biogro.

TRADE MINISTER Tim Groser’s insistence on dairy being included in any Trans Pacific Partnership (TPP) deal has received industry backing.

WORKSAFE NEW Zealand says it thinks farmers are getting the message about quad safety despite a recent spike in quad crash deaths.

AN INAUGURAL Technology Expo run as part of Beef + Lamb New Zealand’s Central Otago ‘Farming For Profit’ programme has been hailed a success by organisers.

NEW ZEALAND dairy farmers are more efficient and produce at least twice as much milk per hectare compared to 50 years ago, says the latest DairyNZ Economic Survey.

THE RURAL sector is forecasting a strong year after outstripping expectations in 2013.