WHILE THE hot, dry weather that’s hit Hawkes Bay has caused grief to many sheep farmers, it’s been a bonus for wool.

YIELDS ARE good and headers ahead of schedule as cropping farmers reel in this year’s grass, cereal and small seed crops.

AUSTRALIA HAS often been called the lucky country, largely because ot its mineral wealth. But fresh water resources make New Zealand a far luckier country. Managed wisely, that resource will be available for generations to come.

START COOLING grain from the day it comes off the paddock to minimise risk of infestation or other problems down the track.

HOW DO you assess whether a paddock needs renewing? The Pasture Renewal Charitable Trust is encouraging use of a condition scoring system akin to those used to assess cattle or sheep.

COMPANIES AND products certified to Fertmark standards are at an all-time high, but a standard for product spread quality remains elusive, says Fertiliser Quality Council chairman, Neil Barton.

THE WANGANUI Dog Trial Centre has started fundraising to enable it to hold the New Zealand championships at Mowhanga, near Taihape, in 2015. 

The controversial issue of interest rate swaps should be examined by select committee, says Labour's Primary Industry spokesperson Damien O'Connor.

Rural insurer, FMG, has announced the prize draw winners of their milk quality awareness campaign.

Any increase in farmer confidence comes from the dairy sector and even that is off a low base. That is one of Federated Farmers' conclusions from its 2012/13 Mid-Season Farm Confidence Survey.