PGG Wrightson is blaming human error for a mix-up resulting in farmers, mostly in the South Island, planting a livestock swede of a variety older than they ordered.

A Marlborough wine company is taking important steps to satisfy international scrutiny around labour practices in New Zealand’s wine industry.

Fonterra is rolling out its Farm Source farmer advisory initiative in Australia.

A Chinese company financing a multi million-dollar sheep milk venture near Taupo plans to build processing plants in other regions.

Farmlands Cooperative has bought into the farm software firm FarmIQ, a developer of software for farming and agribusiness.

A young dairy farming couple have increased their equity by at least $500,000 in two-three years on a less-than-ideal Far North farm and despite two years of low dairy payout.

Sadly, our cooperative has lost one of our strongest people with former director Michael Spaans passing away last week.

The future of once-a-day milking was talked up recently at a DairyNZ discussion group near Otaki.

The Ministry for Primary Industries says “suspicious” test results for the bacterial cattle disease Mycoplasma bovis on two more farms in the South Canterbury region are not dashing hopes for containment and eradication.

The possibility is still “very alive” that New Zealand will get on board the Trans Pacific Partnership (TPP) trade agreement, says trade expert and consultant Stephen Jacobi.