2014 HAS seen a high-demand start to my professional year with many sizeable assignments starting for new and existing clients. This reflects a combination of a buoyant dairy economy and more willingness by top operators to make themselves accountable to best practice by putting key aspects of their businesses under the spotlight.

TRACTOR MAKER New Holland Agriculture has opened a customer centre at its Jesi plant in Italy, the group’s global centre for specialty tractor production.

MOVE ASIDE vegetarians, here come ‘bettertarians’ – Australian livestock farmers with a concept for helping consumers make better-informed food choices.

MICROSOFT’S SOFTWARE Windows XP and Office 2003 are no longer supported (as of April 8). That’s not the end of the world, but it does mean it’s time to consider looking at new options in software and hardware.

AT THE end of March, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) released a report predicting the north-east of the South Island and northern and eastern areas of the North Island will become drier over the next few decades, but other parts of New Zealand will become wetter. 

NEW FARM management cloud software developed by Wairarapa sheep-and-beef farmers allows input from everybody on a farm, says Gretchen Bunny, managing director of AgRecord, formed to market the product.

FARMERS AND environmentalists alike are touting the benefits of planned aerial bovine tuberculosis (TB) control operations this winter in Waipunga near the Taupo to Napier highway.

THE GOVERNMENT will reallocate $24 million to a new project that encourages land owners in the Lake Rotorua catchment to switch to low nitrogen land uses or find other ways to reduce the amount of nitrogen polluting the lake water, Environment Minister Amy Adams says.

SYNLAIT SAYS it expects Synlait Milk to receive registration by the Certification and Accreditation Administration of the People's Republic of China (CNCA) as an exporter of finished infant formula into China.

DAIRYNZ CHIEF executive Tim Mackle is urging farmers to vote when they receive voting papers in the mail this month.