THE MILK payout used to be the main driver of the farm property market, but not anymore, says Bayley’s country property specialist, John Barnett.

ABOUT 25% of dairy farms will “have significant liquidity risk” this year on current forecasts for costs and milk price, says DairyNZ senior economist Matt Newman.

AS THE soil starts warming up over the next few months, farmers will be preparing to fertilise their paddocks. For business efficiency and environmental protection it’s important to bear in mind the risks of applying too much fertiliser, and applying it in the wrong place or at the wrong time.

The Waikato Regional Council is looking at One Plan and implications for its own water policies.

Fonterra is considering consolidating brands to arrest a decline in its Australian business.

Beef and Lamb NZ's latest new season outlook has beef production pegged for a 7.8% lift to 2.3 million head in the 2012-13 season. This is largely linked to the carryover of cull cows from last season given the excellent conditions though fewer beef cow replacements are being retained and more dairy culls are likely, given the ever expanding NZ dairy herd.

Former New Zealand Sharemilker of the Year, Teresa Moore, is taking over as chair of the New Zealand Dairy Industry Awards Trust.

A major problem that meat processors are facing is built up stocks of frozen lamb. Too much money was spent on lambs at the start of the season, and when overseas markets slid, processors were too slow in adjusting schedules.

New targeted approaches for nitrogen and phosphate applications are being studied in Ballance Agri-Nutrients' $32 million research programmes.

FARMERS SHOULD do comprehensive due diligence before deciding which meat processing company to sell stock to, says Beef + Lamb New Zealand.