Bill English says that while the dairy industry was an important one, it was not necessarily as big as many thought.

A national programme to address rural depression will be developed in recognition of challenging times for farmers including volatility in milk prices.

ProTen, an Australian chicken farming business whose shares trade on New Zealand's Unlisted market, raised A$34 million ($36.5 million) to fund growth and repay financing.

The New Zealand National Agricultural Fieldays is underway at Mystery Creek Events Center, Hamilton.

Fonterra says it will lay off hundreds of its 1500 head office staff in a major review following the decline in dairy prices.

AgriHQ forecasts increased milk production and a higher forecast payout to dairy farmers will bolster the economy.

MPI forecasts revenue from primary industries will drop to $35.2 billion in the year to June.

Two successive years of low milk prices will increase pressure on the asset quality of New Zealand banks, says ratings agency Fitch.

Murray McCully's controversial $10m deal bypassed the normal Govt control channels, writes Fran O'Sullivan. "The deal is now being challenged as an outright bribe."

The yawning gap between supply and demand once again made its presence felt at the latest GlobalDairyTrade (GDT) auction.

International dairy prices continued to fall as the market struggles to recover from a supply/demand imbalance and subdued demand from China.

The next eight months will be lean for dairy farmers but Rabobank NZ chief Ben Russell says he is confident the downturn will be cyclical and one most farmers can cope with.

Trust set-up raises issue of whether farmer shareholder and external investor interests in Fonterra are fully aligned.

ANZ breached the Fair Trading Act for misleadingly representing interest rate swaps to some customers.

Fonterra's cut its payout forecast by 10c to $4.40 a kilo of milk solids and says it expects to pay out $5.25 a kilo for next season.

There's been another fall in world dairy prices, with the GDT index down to its lowest level since August 2009.

Farm prices have continued to rise, despite the near halving of milk prices over the last year, according to REINZ.

Fonterra's strategy has to start delivering or its market share will shrink further, says Federated Farmers Otago dairy chairman Stephen Crawford.

Fonterra farmers have been tipped to go without a "retro" payment in July as the co-operative rebalances.

We continue to strive for higher production in farming to raise more profit per square metre of land, writes Sam Judd. Perhaps there is a way to make a shed which is nice for the animals, with room to move around whilst still productive?

The old joke that there's nothing in New Zealand but sheep may have run its course, as stock numbers hit lows not seen since during the Second World War.

The Reserve Bank has singled out the New Zealand dairy sector as an "area of risk" for the financial system.

Fonterra will late this month release its milk price forecast for 2015/16 and indications are that it will be towards the lower end of market expectations.

International dairy prices fell for the fourth time in a row at this morning's GlobalDairyTrade auction.

ANZ New Zealand boss David Hisco says the country's biggest bank is working closely with rural customers as falling dairy prices begin to bite, but farmers are better placed to deal with the....

New Zealand commodity prices had their biggest decline since the height of the global financial crisis in 2008, led by falling dairy product prices.

Drought conditions are biting into California's dairy production, which could end up being supportive for international dairy prices, say analysts.