Southland farmers are creating unique community groups for town and country in response to escalating environmental rules.

Southland landowners are being urged to continue to be proactive in the fight against the pest weed velvetleaf, as the next phase of the response gets underway.

A Northern Southland farmer had his actions described as “reckless” during a sentencing at the Invercargill District Court this morning.

The new Southern Dairy Hub in Invercargill will start milking cows next season.

Dairy farmers in Otago and Southland have taken a hit from unseasonal high winds that have demolished haybarns and generally disrupted their farming.

The Southland winter-spring, with prolonged incessant rain, cold wind and low sunshine hours, have depressed grass growth well below normal.

A cold wet winter and the low payout is a disaster for Southland dairy farmers, says DairyNZ.

This season threw up a big challenge for dairy farmers in the low payout, but all hoped the weather might have been kind.

The Southland District Council is advising drivers in central Southland against unnecessary travel, due to widespread icy conditions.

Nine months since reports of cows collapsing on swede crops in Southland, the exact cause of the casualties is still uncertain.