‘STOP THE boats’ has been the mantra of new Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott since he was first elected Opposition leader in 2009.

ASK VETERINARIAN and Waikato farmer Ian Scott what he thinks of new pasture cultivars and, off the record, you’re likely to get a four-letter-word answer.

YOU CAN’T prove cause and effect, but it seems more than a coincidence farmers using New Zealand’s leading farm decision support tool make more money than average.

FEDERATED FARMERS wants the Primary Production Select Committee to consider tweaking the Animal Welfare Amendment Bill so privacy laws don’t prevent getting help to suffering animals and farmers.

CANADA’S PEST Management Regulatory Agency says current agricultural practices related to the use of neonicotinoid-treated corn and soybean seed are not sustainable, but has stopped short of calling for a ban.

A NOVEL on-farm milk progesterone test with many applications around mating and pregnancy diagnosis has had a rapid uptake in its first year since launch in the UK.

THE MERGER of two prominent farm machinery brands, Fairbrother and Hooper, is starting to bear fruit.

A 4-METRE disc airseeder launched at Fieldays by Reese Agri is “a hit” with contractors, the company says. The machine is a disc variant of the Aitchison Airpro airseeder.

MORE FREQUENT droughts will put farming communities including dairy under more pressure over water, says the Waikato Regional Council’s investigations manager Patrick Lynch.

GETTING DAMAGED irrigators back up and running is the big concern on many dairy farms in the wake of the September 10-11 windstorm.