All hands are on deck today at Fonterra Brands New Zealand's (FBNZ) Takanini site as the first Fonterra Milk for Schools packs make their way down the production line and into the coolstore to wait for their ride to school.

Swedes who recently visited an award-winning Waikato farm were impressed by our farming, says the New Zealand Farm Environment (NZFE) Trust.

Tucked away in the top north-west corner of the South Island the stunningly scenic Golden Bay area is home to three wineries. While part of the wider Nelson region, Golden Bay has slipped under the radar from a winemaking point of view. However when you look at the climate and soil structures it is not surprising there are some outstanding wines being produced in the region.

Abloke not given to self-promotion, Phil Holden says he is called Mr Gimblett Gravels – a well-deserved moniker given the many trophy-winning wines this Villa Maria vineyard manager has grown on the group's sites just west of Hastings.

The silence from the New Zealand wine industry was deafening when Neil McCallum (of Dry River Wines) planted the first grapes in Martinborough, in 1980.

While Hawkes Bay has a long winemaking tradition, it has only been over the last few decades that its ability to grow a wide range of wine styles from an array of microclimates and soil types has been better understood.

With a scheme dating from mid-nineties and now covering over 95% of our vineyard area, New Zealand has largely been ahead of the pack when it comes to sustainable winegrowing. However, as New World competitors such as Chile and South Africa instate their own environmental programmes, the gap is starting to narrow.

Traceability of New Zealand wine is an important marketing tool, which should cover every aspect from the vines, through to the bottled product. It is a process that New Zealand Winegrowers has worked hard to develop, through programmes such as Sustainable Winegrowing New Zealand.

THE NEW Zealand dollar's strength is throwing a dampener on heady days for beef.

THE BEEF industry is hoping to make new inroads into the tricky but potentially huge halal market this year including regaining some of its former $31 million trade to Malaysia.