DairyNZ says New Zealand milk production is expected to fall by 2 or 3 per cent this season as farmers focus on improving the efficiency of their farming systems.

Whole milk powder prices have dropped to their lowest level since 2008, putting more downward pressure on Fonterra's farmgate milk price forecast and reinforcing the market view that the Reserve Bank will cut interest rates twice this year to partly compe

Whole milk powder prices - key to determining Fonterra's farmgate mik price, dropped by 10.3 per cent overnight.

The ANZ Commodity Price Index for July fell 11.2 per cent to the lowest level since October 2009.

Cow effluent charges against two Marlborough farmers have been proven.

Fonterra's board will meet on Friday to review the farmgate milk price.

As milk prices fall, farmers keep waiting for the cycle to turn. But what if Fonterra's problems are longer term, asks Jamie Gray.

Is Fonterra on the right track? Or is it time for Plan B? Plan B would result in the company being split into a basic commodity player focused on growing the milk price.

The story of Harry Meijer and his flying fox has been viewed more than 164,000 times on the New Zealand Herald's Facebook page.

As Fonterra's NZX-listed units languish near an all-time low, analysts say the market will remain cool on the dairy giant.

Fonterra Co-operative Group has put on hold plans to develop an Equity Partnership Trust that would have given its 10,500 farmer suppliers access to investor capital to help them with the compulsory....

Concentrating on marketing its cuts rather than processing them is paying dividends for a niche meat exporter.

Germany is the largest export market for New Zealand onions, followed by Indonesia and Japan.

Pressure is building on Fonterra chief executive Theo Spierings as the dairy industry faces up to a winter of discontent, writes Liam Dann.

Jamie Gray writes: For Fonterra's farmers, investors and employees the severity of the dairy downturn will become clear early next month.

Silver Fern Farms, NZ's biggest meat processor says it is considering raising $100m in fresh capital.

France's meat and dairy producers halted traffic and blocked tourist sites in several regions to protest low prices.

Open Country has told its farmers that their forecast payout has been cut back due to slumping world dairy prices.

Liam Dann says axing 523 jobs may make financial sense to Fonterra's chiefs but the dairy slump is bigger than that.

Fonterra's board will consider its current farm gate milk price forecast for 2015/6 at its next meeting on August 7, a spokesman for the co-operative said.

Dairy prices have plunged in the latest world dairy auction, taking the Kiwi dollar down with it.

The prices eased in the first sale of the new 2015/16 season as demand weakened.

"It's pretty negative, there's a lot of selling in the futures and there's not much buying - this market looks completely stuffed."

There's so much milk flowing out of US cows these days that some is ending up in dirt pits because dairies can't find buyers.

The New Zealand dollar fell after prices for the nation's largest commodity export declined in the latest GlobalDairyTrade auction overnight.

The price for NZ's key dairy export, whole milk powder, is set to decline further at tonight's GlobalDairyTrade auction.

Prime Minister John Key says overseas markets are causing high prices for milk at home.

New Zealand farmer confidence slumped to the lowest level in a decade in the second quarter as dairy farmers turned gloomy.

Dairy prices eased at the latest GlobalDairyTrade (GDT) auction but the sale gave away little on where the market, and interest rates, will go in the months ahead.