WAIPAOA STATION is about an hour inland from Gisborne, just off SH 2. It’s typical medium to steep East Coast hill country and once was a huge iconic station of some 13,000has. However, over time, parcels of land have been sold off and today the 1800ha effective property carries 16,000 stock units, split 50/50 sheep and beef.

RESULTS OF a grass weed management trial should serve as a reminder to all farmers, cropping or otherwise, to be wary of over reliance on chemical controls, says the Foundation of Arable Research.

HORSE CASTRATION by anyone other than a vet or suitably supervised vet student is illegal and risks a fine of $50,000 or 12 months in prison, says the Ministry for Primary Industries.

INVESTING IN automated mastitis detection isn’t cheap, yet at present there’s little comparable data to help guide the decision.

STARLINGS HAVE caused at least $9 million damage to farm tractors during the past five years, says rural insurer FMG.  Birds love to nest in warm, dry places -- especially tractor engines. But the resulting straw can easily catch fire and destroy a tractor.

ROBOTIC MILKING of housed cows, ‘slow’ and organic foods and bio-energy are three stand-out impressions for 28 New Zealand farmers who arrived home on August 5 from a 25-day tour of Scandanavia that closed with a brief stop in Russia.

WAYNE PERKINS and Nick Wansink travelled recently to Australia to display the Perkinz range of sheep-handling equipment at the Sheepvention field days held yearly in Hamilton, Victoria. Their products received four awards.

DairyNZ will hold workshops on herd reproductive performance in Northland during August and September in a bid to improve the region's 57% six-week in-calf rate.

Former fertiliser consultant Jim Galloway takes a scientific approach to nutrient use on his Nireaha dairy farm, west of Eketahuna.

The National Beekeepers' Association is kicking off 'Love Our Kiwi Bees', a nationwide campaign to protect bees. National Bee Week in New Zealand runs from Monday (August 20) to August 24.