It was just a decade ago when the first ever wine was made in the Waitaki Valley, with the subsequent releases riding a wave of hype and well deserved critical acclaim. However, Craggy Range withdrew a few years back; its largest player, Pasquale has announced it’s pulling out and “for sale” signs are now scattered through its vineyard area. So what’s happened to a place so full of promise?

There’s been a lot of superlatives bandied about, describing the 2013 vintage, but to put it simply, it was stunning, the best ever!  The dry weather, whilst tough on pastoral farmers was ideal for grapegrowers, and we have harvested beautiful fruit, across the wide range of varieties grown in Gisborne.

Vintage 2013 is now over and according to all reports it seems to have been a very good one for the sector. The first wines from the vintage have already appeared in the Wine Export Certification System and we expect May to be a very busy month for certifying 2013 wines as industry stocks are low.

Award winning sales manager Colin May has joined the GEA Farm Technologies New Zealand management team to drive sales for its animal health and hygiene brand, FIL.

BULLS SELECTED on gene analysis, before they have daughters producing milk, have been drafted out of the BW lists.

THE MOOD on dairy farms around the country has lifted into positive territory as rain falls and pasture recovery is better than expected, says DairyNZ regional team manager Craig McBeth.

HAWKE’S BAY dairy farmer David Hunt says people in rural areas should not be afraid to offer help to fellow farmers and friends they think might be suffering from stress and/or depression. The drought caused many farmers to struggle to cope and Rural Support Trusts have been active. 

BAD WEATHER last year wiped 14% off total farm income in the UK, says Defra. Farmers’ total income dropped by $1.435 billion in 2012 to $8.57b.

FREE ICE cream made from fresh New Zealand milk would be a treat for any kid. But children from Pt England school in Auckland got to try 18 different flavours as judges in the Kid’s Choice ice cream awards.

LAST WEEK’S meeting in Dannevirke about the impacts of One Plan on dairy farmers was scary for a number of reasons.