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.

Shareholders in Australian dairy co-operative Murray Goulburn (MG) have voted in favour of a Fonterra-style capital structure that will see its units trade on the ASX.

ANZ Bank New Zealand, the country's biggest lender, was the most aggressive in pitching interest rate swaps to farmers, the Commerce Commission says.

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.

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.

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....

International dairy prices look likely to head lower at this week's GlobalDairyTrade auction, according to futures market pricing.

The end of the European Union's quota system poses a challenge to New Zealand's dominance of global dairy trade and is likely to put an end to the sharp upward spikes in prices seen in the past, says....

The first shipment of New Zealand kiwifruit set off from the Port of Tauranga yesterday, marking the start of a season that looks set to see volumes bounce back to pre-Psa levels, says Zespri chief....

Consumer-driven food trends are nothing new. "Organics", gluten-free and others have all captured consumers, encouraging supermarkets around the globe to respond.

When news broke of the 1080 baby formula threats, there was an immediate financial market reaction.

A report into New Zealand's meat industry has come out heavily in favour of a single co-operative business model similar to Fonterra's to deal with decades-old issues of overcapacity and too much....

Market sentiment at tomorrow's GlobalDairyTrade auction will be tested following the revelations last week of a threat to the food safety of New Zealand infant formula, says ANZ.

Fallout from this week's baby formula contamination threat weighed heavily on the New Zealand dollar yesterday, with news of curtailed orders from China driving the currency lower still.

The Government was right to say nothing until discreet inquiries had failed and there is a chance a public appeal might help police catch him. The interval appears to have permitted the industry to be well prepared.

Allowing drones to operate beyond the operator's line of sight could provide economic gains of up to $190m a year to New Zealand's farming, forestry and energy sectors.

Dairy prices firmed at the latest GlobalDairyTrade auction, backing expectations that Fonterra will meet its $4.70 a kg farmgate milk price this season, but concerns remain about muted demand from....

Growing global market opportunities and the need to strengthen supply chains are creating a thirst for capital among agricultural co-operatives around the world, rural lending specialist Rabobank said.