Manawatu dairy farmer Mat Hocken is the winner of the Rabobank Emerging Leader Award for 2019. Hocken is director and owner of family business Grassmere Dairy, a 1000-cow dairy operation on the banks of the Oroua River in the Manawatu. … Continue reading →

Big changes have been announced in Fonterra’s 2019 Sustainability Report. Co-firing biomass to reduce coal, lifting the number of New Zealand products with health star ratings and launching an emissions profile for every farm headline the report. While these and other … Continue reading →

Nominations for the 2020 Fonterra Dairy Woman of the Year awards have opened. Last year’s finalists were of a high calibre says Dairy Women’s Network (DWN) chief executive Jules Benton.  “Women on farm all juggle many multiple roles,” she said.  … Continue reading →

A simple DIY test for farmers is a cost-effective way to manage nitrogen levels in soil, a three-year project has shown. The Foundation for Arable Research (FAR), backed by the Ministry for Primary Industry’s (MPI’s) Sustainable Farming Fund and other … Continue reading →

A Palmerston North man has been jailed and his wife fined $30,000 after pleading guilty to a total of 20 charges relating to the abuse of cows and calves in their care. Malcolm and Cheryl Wood pleaded guilty earlier this … Continue reading →

Spring Sheep is now launching its products into the local market for the first time. The first product will be Spring Sheep’s full cream sheep milk powder. It is now available at Aelia Duty Free stores in Auckland and will … Continue reading →

New Fonterra shareholders council chairman James Barron says farmers are facing a raft of challenges. But this isn’t the first time farmers have been under the pump, he says. “We always have been able to overcome these challenges: this time … Continue reading →

Global demand for skim milk powder (SMP) is increasing. As SMP stockpiled in European warehouses over the years dwindles, prices are on the rise. Last week’s Global Dairy Trade (GDT) auction saw SMP price rise 3.3% to US$3017/tonne, the highest … Continue reading →

Ravensdown’s ClearTech farm effluent treatment system is not just for dairy sheds, the company says. An installation is now up and running in the Darfield yard of Frews Transport, taking care of the company’s truck wash-down water. ClearTech is Ravensdown’s … Continue reading →

Former parliament Speaker David Carter has lost his bid for a directorship of the South Island rural service company Ruralco. At the cooperative’s annual meeting last week, shareholders re-elected sitting directors Jessie Chan-Dorman and Tony Coltman. Both retired by rotation … Continue reading →