A group of stock agents and meat processors have agreed to work with Federated Farmers and the Rural Support Trust to help farmers affected by the drought.

The chair of the Maori dairy company Miraka, Kingi Smiler, says his company is more resilient in lower payout years than Fonterra.

The winner of the Bay of Plenty Young Fruit Grower of Year, Craig Ward (26), says from early childhood he wanted a career in horticulture. 

Don't accept a second-rate health service just because you live in a rural area, delegates at last week’s South Island Dairy Event heard.

There are reports of more than 2000 slips on roads alone and countless more on farms, plus 25 road closures and a dozen farms underwater in the area covered by the Horizons Regional Council. 

Horticulture could be the star performer in the primary sector this year. Horticulture NZ outgoing chief executive Peter Silcock says horticulture is in a very strong position.

The Beef + Lamb NZ board will need to rethink its whole strategy as an organisation after the processing companies rejected a proposal for joint in-market promotion, says BLNZ chairman James Parsons.

John and Catherine Ford from Rotorua are the Ballance Farm Environment Award winners for 2015, the first time a North Island farming business has won this award.

The 2015 Bay of Plenty Young Fruit Grower of the Year has gone to 26-year-old Craig Ward from Apata.

The apiculture industry has voted by a substantial majority to proceed with unification and their associations at the New Zealand Apiculture Conference.