Water, soil monitoring, irrigation and weather systems will be hot topics at this year’s East Coast Farming Expo, as the region battles the effects of another summer drought.

New Zealand and American scientists have discovered a previously unknown way of chemically converting reactive nitrogen, common in soil and water, into a safe form rather than a harmful greenhouse gas.

Want to get your message across to farmers? Well, social media, it would seem, is not the best way.

At the recent elections for NZWinegrowers Inc, there was a noticeable lack of female candidates.

GP shortages in rural areas are a huge, escalating problem and bold solutions are needed, says Dr Nigel Murray, Waikato District Health Board (DHB) chief executive.

Environmental management, its use and regulation is high on the radar of sheep and beef farmers, according Beef+Lamb NZ’s Sam McIvor.

New Zealand can survive without the Trans Pacific Partnership (TPP) trade deal in the short term, says Wellington-based trade expert Charles Finny.

Federated Farmers Dairy chairman Andrew Hoggard says the world markets have become more unstable despite an improvement in dairy prices.

New Holland Agriculture has upgraded its Roll-Belt variable chamber balers for better performance in silage; its new IntelliBale system is said to raise performance and efficiency.

The head of global agri for KPMG, Ian Proudfoot says he has concerns that the apparent fast recovery in dairy prices is leading to complacency which is a problem.