By Paul McBeth June 18 (BusinessDesk) - Industry body Dairy NZ sees fully automated milking as a major opportunity to lift on-farm productivity, but doesn't expect it to be commonplace for several decades.  About 44 percent of the country's dairy herd are milked in more eff...

By Gavin Evans June 17 (BusinessDesk) - Mandatory mediation before enforcement is taken against farmers struggling to meet their loan commitments will ensure a fair process and take some of the pressure off rural families during times of stress, Agriculture Minister Damien O’C...

By Paul McBeth June 17 (BusinessDesk) - ASX-listed Keytone Dairy, which owns a dairy factory in Christchurch, will pay A$22.4 million in cash, shares and assumed debt for Australian powder processor Omniblend.  The acquisition builds on its A$15 million initial public offer...

By Gavin Evans June 14 (BusinessDesk) - Forestry encroachment onto higher-value farm land is an issue for councils to manage, Lands Minister Eugenie Sage says. The national environmental standard for plantation forestry doesn’t set out to encourage forestry on good farm lan...

By Jenny Ruth June 13 (BusinessDesk) - China has been New Zealand’s largest market for red meat for some time and growth in that market is surging. Meat Industry Association analysis of Stats NZ figures shows China accounted for 36 percent of total red meat exports in April...

By Rebecca Howard June 13 (BusinessDesk) - New Zealand's dairy industry is investing $25.7 million in an innovation project to produce better cows.  The seven-year programme, called Resilient Dairy: Innovative Breeding for a Sustainable Future, was launched at Fieldays. It...

By Rebecca Howard June 13 (BusinessDesk) - The government expects primary industry export revenue will rise 7.1 percent to $45.7 billion in the June year, but predicts growth will be flatter in the future.  The lift marks the "second straight year of substantial export grow...

By Rebecca Howard June 12 (BusinessDesk) - Up to 2,200 farmers will get on-the-ground support through the $229.2 million Sustainable Land Use budget package and support tools - like Overseer - will be upgraded.  Agriculture Minister Damien O’Connor and Prime Minister Jacind...

By Paul McBeth June 11 (BusinessDesk) - Rangatira Investments maintained its dividend in the face of weaker earnings following the sale of smallgoods maker Hellers. The Wellington-based investment firm will pay an unchanged dividend of 36 cents per share on June 21. That ta...

By Rebecca Howard June 11 (BusinessDesk) - The biggest increase in the volume of meat and dairy products for five years helped drive increased manufacturing sales in the March quarter.  The volume of manufacturing sales rose a seasonally adjusted 2 percent in the three mont...

By Rebecca Howard June 11 (BusinessDesk) - Allied Farmers expects annual operating earnings to be generally consistent with the prior year despite headwinds from the likes of the Mycoplasma bovis outbreak.  The company says the livestock business remains challenging, with f...

By Rebecca Howard June 7 (BusinessDesk) - Synlait Milk has filed for leave to appeal to the Supreme Court in an effort to remove covenants over its Pokeno site. The company says it is still confident it can reach a solution with the involved parties, but lodged its applicat...

By Rebecca Howard June 6 (BusinessDesk) - New Zealand's commodity prices were unchanged in the month of May and were slightly higher on the year, the ANZ Bank's monthly commodity price index shows. The ANZ world commodity price index was unchanged in May having gained 2.6 p...

(Adds Fonterra comment in last 2 paragraphs) By Paul McBeth June 6 (BusinessDesk) - Primary Industries Minister Damien O'Connor will grant Fonterra Cooperative Group a little relief over its requirement to accept milk from all-comers, but it will also face greater oversight...

By Rebecca Howard June 5 (BusinessDesk) - Federated Farmers is pointing the finger at the Reserve Bank's proposed increase in bank capital requirements as more farmers feel under pressure and overall satisfaction with banks hit the lowest level since its first survey in August...

By Margreet Dietz June 5 (BusinessDesk) - Dairy product prices fell at the Global Dairy Trade auction, sliding a second consecutive time, as whole milk powder continued its retreat.  The GDT price index dropped 3.4 percent from the previous auction two weeks ago. The averag...

By Rebecca Howard June 4 (BusinessDesk) - Danone SA can indirectly hold up to 65 percent of Yashili New Zealand Dairy Co after its Danone Asia Pacific unit got a green light from the Overseas Investment Office to purchase up to 49 percent of the local dairy processor. "The...

By Rebecca Howard June 4 (BusinessDesk) - New Zealand's terms of trade rebounded in the first quarter on record export volumes of dairy products and cheaper imported fuel.  The terms of trade, which measures the purchasing power of New Zealand's exports relative to imports,...

By Gavin Evans June 4 (BusinessDesk) - Setting stringent climate change targets without understanding their cost or feasibility risks placing an unfair burden on some sectors, climate change professor David Frame says. Moving New Zealand to a net-zero carbon economy will ha...

By Jenny Ruth May 30 (BusinessDesk) - Fonterra shares and units have fallen to record lows after the dairy giant said total New Zealand milk production fell 10 percent in April from a year ago and Australian production fell 10 percent in March. Fonterra Co-operative shares,...

By Gavin Evans May 30 (BusinessDesk) - Wood is a viable industrial fuel but greater effort may be needed to ensure that new demand from processors doesn’t strip supplies from existing users, Fonterra says. Co-firing the firm’s Brightwater milk powder plant near Nelson on a...

By Gavin Evans May 29 (BusinessDesk) - Industry must demonstrate its ability to innovate and respond to climate challenge if it is to maintain the support of the voting public, Regional Economic Development Minister Shane Jones says. New Zealand First is not going to allow...