Labour shortages on orchards are beginning to impact the quality of New Zealand products in global markets.

It's no wonder Zespri chief executive Dan Mathieson had an extra bounce in his step while traipsing around the US with PM Jacinda Ardern and others on a recent trade mission to that country.

Rabobank and the ANZ Bank agree that the outlook for dairy and meat for the coming year is positive, but both also have some words of warning.

NZ's agricultural sector needs to recognise Covid-19 as the "new normal," says leading expert on international trade, Professor Hamish Gow.

Prices for NZ's main primary exports could rise to new heights in the coming year, but beneath that is a layer of not so good news.

Horticulture has the potential to be the brightest star in the primary sector in the coming decade.

Kiwifruit orchards will be hives of activity over the next three months as the 2019 harvest gets underway.

Not long ago Simon Limmer was extolling the virtues of kiwifruit as chief operating officer of Zespri, now he's marketing red meat as chief executive of Silver Fern Farms.

Robotics will play a huge role in the future of horticulture, but it is no use building robots no one can afford, says Steve Saunders, founding director of Newman Park Innovation Centre, Tauranga.

Another year has almost passed us by – again – and it is time for the annual review of 2015's good, bad and ugly in regards to the primary sector as seen by the Rural News editorial team...