THE IMAGE presented by the Overseas Investment Office (OIO) and the Crafar Farms situation made New Zealand look like “Mickey Mouse turkeys” to German company BayWa, says Geoff Hipkins, the new chief executive of Turners & Growers (T&G).

THE US Department of Agriculture’s latest forecast for the national corn and soybean harvests reflects what farmers have been seeing for the past two months: vanishing prospects for a good year as their crops wilt from lack of water, a Purdue University specialist says.

THE BANKING industry should accept a good deal of responsibility for New Zealand’s level of agricultural debt and for lending beyond what was sensible, chairman of Rabobank and Air New Zealand, John Palmer says.

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.