AS A keen ice hockey and rugby player, I have always been happier in the fray than on the sidelines, but a seat in the stands does give you a different perspective.

BE WARY with nitrogen fertiliser on pasture over winter for economic and environmental reasons, says  Waikato Regional Council sustainable agriculture coordinator Bala Tikkisetty.

University of Otago researcher has been granted $600,000 over two years to create a low-input farming model combining Maori knowledge and science.

While grapes have been a tiny segment of the Marlborough landscape for well over a hundred years, it has only been since 1973 that the region has forged a reputation as a world-renowned producer.

Latest figures show that bulk wine exports out of New Zealand rose to 35% in 2011, up from approximately 5% in 2007 and 30% in 2010. But is this all bad, and is New Zealand any different to other new world producers?

In many ways, Central Otago lends itself to organic vineyard management and farming. However, by the same token, the nature of the climate and soils constitutes significant obstacles to overcome.

For growers the end of harvest means they will be contemplating the financial result from the year's work. For most, the news will not be good. Low yields and grape prices mean most growers will not have fared well in the past 12 months. Ironically the cause of the tough times this year is not too many grapes, but not enough.

Funds left over from wool levies collected by Meat & Wool New Zealand – now Beef + Lamb New Zealand - have supported the development of a new fabric that blends waste rice straw and New Zealand strong wool.

Rabobank Australia and New Zealand has appointed Sarah Sivyer as the senior animal proteins analyst in its Food & Agribusiness Research and Advisory (FAR) division.

Rural Women New Zealand will highlight the devastating impacts on families of leptospirosis, a disease that can be passed from infected animals to humans, at the New Zealand Veterinary Association conference in Hamilton next week.