The end of the year is fast approaching, so here are some thoughts on a few of the significant developments during 2025 to wrap things up. Times are tough, of course, but there are some positive stories to think about, as well as the challenges.

OPINION: When I moved to Marlborough two decades ago, I found countless lines of tidy vines, neatly mowed and carefully sprayed, with diligent conventional practices interspersed with the odd organic or cover-cropping outlier, like Te Whare Ra.

According to Zespri's November forecast for the 2025/26 season, returns are likely to be up for all fruit groups compared to the last forecast in August.

Dannevirke farmer Dan Billing has been announced as the new national chair of Beef + Lamb New Zealand's (B+LNZ) Farmer Council.

With life often a matter of timing, complemented by a portion of luck, it looks like Waikato farmer Matthew Darke’s timing of an order for a new tractor in July delivered an awful lot of the latter.

Lambs that have had a tough start to life are obvious at docking/tailing as scrawny little critters with a potty tummy and no fat on their backs - hence the term 'poddy'. Ginny Dodunski, Beef + Lamb NZ Wormwise programme manager, outlines the best way to deal with these lambs so they can perform to their full potential.

A Mid Canterbury beef farm has unlocked a new market for its products thanks to its unusual beef breed, and an award-winning pie taking the district by storm.

OPINION: Eight point two billion people on the planet. Ten point three billion exported by 2084 (according to the latest United Nations' projections). And it is our role as farmers and growers in the food system to feed them. We need to do this as sustainably as possible, but the primary goal must be food production.

OPINION: In a memo, rich guy Bill Gates didn't become a climate change denier, but he did give the world a dose of common sense, saying we should redirect efforts away from the campaign to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and instead focus on other ways to improve human lives and reduce suffering.

OPINION: Farmers along the east coast of both islands are being urged to start planning for drought as recent nor'west winds have left soil moisture levels depleted.