While the primary sector has its challenges, science and agriculture must be given a chance to solve them

The sharp drop in the value of the New Zealand dollar and a swift end to last summer's drought has significantly improved the outlook for farmers, says Rabobank.

"I see tourists regularly and they ask is there somewhere to eat and sleep?" Ken Turner's planned eco tourism venture would've been impossible earlier.

Matamata sharemilker Fergus King showed off brute strength when he cleaned up in the wood-chopping heat of the Fieldays rural bachelor of the year competition.

He's only 12, but Patrick Roskam has invented a helpful farming tool which has been given the tick of approval by a panel of business moguls and his idol, entrepreneur Sir William Gallagher.

An aerial robot armed with live-feed cameras that can monitor farms while the owner is at home enjoying a cup of tea is being tipped as a gadget that could get city-slickers back to the country.

The youngest competitor at this year's Fieldays innovation centre is hoping investors will get on board with his invention that stops birds contaminating water supplies in tanks.

Kiwi farmers' expertise could help solve the problem of how to feed the world's rapidly growing population in the years ahead, says the boss of agriculture show Fieldays.

Australian farmer Sam Trethewey says there is just one factor that separates him from a bunch of strapping New Zealand hopefuls all vying to win the Fieldays Rural Bachelor of the Year award.

Environmental columnist Sam Judd checks out a new way for farmers to make money that will actually benefit the environment.

The allure of a high share price is proving too much for a growing number of Fonterra's farmers, with more choosing to sell up and move to competing cooperatives and dairy companies, says Fonterra's director of milk supply, Steve Murphy.

The rain is here and the grass is growing but some farmers will still be battling the effects of the worst drought in 30 years over the winter months.

An Opotiki dairy farm and its director have been fined $37,000 for discharging effluent from a pond and ordered to complete a dairy farm effluent management course.

Farmer David Hunt has spoken out about his battle with mental illness in a bid to raise awareness of the warning signs for depression in rural communities.

Emily Mott woke up feeling dizzy days after falling off a quad bike and hitting her head on a rock while working on a dairy farm near Dannevirke.

Today, more than 70 billion animals are raised and killed for food worldwide annually, the majority in factory farms.

Chinese billionaire Jiang Zhaobai, who now owns the Crafar dairy farming empire, is back in New Zealand forging a relationship with Maori.

Primary industries generate over 70 per cent of New Zealand's merchandise exports.

Organisers of a red meat industry meeting in Christchurch tomorrow are seeking a written mandate from farmers, including a commitment to a possible new entity.