The 11 finalists competing for the 2013 New Zealand Farm Manager of the Year title are split between contract milkers and farm managers – as well as age, experience, and farm size.

ORGANISERS OF a second meeting calling for reform of the meat industry say the attendance and feedback strengthens their mandate.

THE POOL of farming and agricultural service people prepared to take on cooperative governance roles just got a bit stronger with 27 delegates completing the LEADing Board course courtesy of the Burnside Hart Co-operative Education Trust and New Zealand Cooperatives Associaton.

BEHIND CLOSED doors last week agribusiness companies discussed the successes and failures of their companies as they have tried to expand into overseas markets.

OUR CHINA export story needs to “get a harder edge”, moving from talk to execution, says ANZ’s chief economist Cameron Bagrie.

PERSUADING ARCH rivals Silver Fern Farms and Alliance to join together is a vision that could be set to music.

NEXT TIME you return from a busman’s holiday overseas, change your clothes and footwear before checking on the farm, warns a global authority on cereal diseases.

INTENSIVE GRAZING beef can boost returns by $480/ha, delegates at a recent Beef + Lamb New Zealand field day heard.

A SHEEP and beef farm manager from the Wellington region’s west coast has landed the top prize in Cooper’s Bumper Season promotion.

A new action plan between Australia and New Zealand will see defences against the threat of Foot and Mouth Disease (FMD) strengthened.