Prosecutions against those behind fishing vessels that tangled with the Royal NZ Navy over summer have been hailed as a "giant step forward" by Foreign Minister Murray McCully.

A second interest rate cut by the Reserve Bank next month is now a done deal and a third is increasingly on the cards before the year is out.

New Zealand apple growers have enjoyed another strong season and the industry looks set to hit the goal of $1 billion in export receipts earlier than the 10-year target of 2022.

Market analysts and dairy industry players say Fonterra needs to improve its performance and while job cuts are unfortunate, big changes are required.

A letter from the Department of Conservation addressed to members of the Taupo Fishery Advisory Committee has been described as proposing "trout farming by stealth" and is certain to raise....

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

New Zealand's largest agriculture expo kicks off tomorrow with the spotlight on innovation in the agritech sector.

Farmers at this week's Fieldays at Mystery Creek will have cost control and innovation on their minds as they try and mitigate the impact of a cashflow crunch caused by sharply lower dairy....

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.

IrrigationNZ said the $25 million in extra funding for irrigation projects announced in the Budget would help boost development of water storage and infrastructure.

It's crunch time for dairy farmers this week when Fonterra releases its farmgate milk price forecast for the coming 2015/16 season.

Trade Minister Tim Groser said he was not aware his last name had been turned into a verb: "Grossing".

A pig hunter is in a critical condition after being accidentally shot in the back in the NSW south west slopes region.

Increased dairy farm foreclosures look likely if product prices remain weak, the Reserve Bank says in its latest financial stability report.

Whole milk powder prices, which are central to Fonterra's farmgate forecasts, showed signs of levelling off at the latest GlobalDairyTrade auction, but competition from big suppliers in the United....

Tim Groser's warning that the dairy sector would effectively have to guts it out during a period of low milk payouts was timely.

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 dairy farmers are looking down the barrel of a low payout this season, and possibly next season, but Trade Minister Tim Groser says the sector can tough it out.

Sheep meat prices have fallen by about 10 per cent over the past two months, driven by a drop in demand in China and difficult conditions in another important export market - Britain.

The Government says sharks should benefit from a proposed ban on wire traces and shark lines in two commercial fisheries.

Supplier-shareholders in Australia's biggest dairy co-operative, Murray Goulburn, will decide next month whether to adopt a Fonterra-style capital structure that would involve raising about A$500....

Dairy farm bank balances will be heading into the red this winter and spring, producing some short-term but significant cashflow management challenges.

Parts of the South Island have experienced sporadic bursts of rain in recent weeks but Marlborough and Canterbury are still waiting for the big drought breaker.

Fonterra says its milk collection in New Zealand for the 10 months to March 31 reached 1431 million kg of milk solids - 1 per cent higher than for the same period last season.

The rural property market has remained remarkably resilient in the face of lower farm-gate prices and dry summer conditions, with prices - by some measures - returning to pre-global financial crisis....