The National Fieldays wants greater engagement with agriculture sectors not associated with dairy.

Richard Smart is no stranger to the wine industry in both Australia and New Zealand. Which is why his comments in the article New Zealand Versus Australia are so worthy of reading.

I worked as a government viticultural scientist in New Zealand in the 1980s in the early stages of growth of the present sector.

Wine fermenters come in all shapes and sizes. From stainless steel giants, to French or American oak barrels and German Fuders.

It was good to see many of our members take the opportunity to attend recent roadshows held by Rural Contractors NZ nationwide last month.

Having recently taken the Manitou telehandler franchise in Waikato to service their mostly dairy focused customer base, Giltrap Agrizone saw a need for high capacity attachments to exploit the high capacities of these machines.

If you’ve made the trip south on SH1 from Christchurch, and passed through Hinds, you can’t have failed to notice the busy factory making bright red farm machinery.

Despite great cow and pasture condition in spring, Lincoln University dairy farm’s six-week in-calf rate slumped from 78% last year to 72% this year.

Do you know how docks, thistles and dandelions differ in their ability to regrow? Or from how deep particular weed species germinate? Or what are the alternative hosts for the pests that try to demolish your crops?

Budget 2015 is, I believe, one of the best for the primary sector since National has been in government.