Farmers from southern provinces are moving to Northland to take advantage of the comparatively cheap dairy farms on offer there, according to real estate agency Bayleys.

New Zealand's "rock star" economic growth of the past couple of years has been attributed to two things: high dairy prices and the Christchurch rebuild.

Farmers are preparing for an austere 2014/15 season after a major drop in prices at last night's GlobalDairyTrade auction, says Federated Farmers boss.

Research funding from the dairying and soft drink industries could be declined on ethical grounds under proposals being worked through by the University of Canterbury.

Dairy farmers face a year of serious belt-tightening if Fonterra's latest milkprice forecast of $5.30 per kg of milksolids comes to pass, agricultural commentators said.

Fonterra has just announced a cut to its forecast farmer payout - from $5.30 a kg of milksolids - down from $6.00.

New Zealand rural confidence levels have fallen to a two-year low thanks to plunging dairy prices, according to Rabobank's latest quarterly rural confidence survey.

Scientists in the UK have created an algorithm for herding sheep but Kiwi farmers remain unconvinced by the idea of robot sheepdogs.

New Zealanders are evenly divided about whether farmers are moving quickly enough to reduce their impact on the environment, a Herald DigiPoll survey shows.

It’s our number one export and the backbone of our economy. But has the dramatic growth of the dairy industry come at too high a cost for our streams and rivers?

About 100 Southland dairy cows have died or been destroyed after contracting lead poisoning from grazing on a gun club property.

While dairy product prices are falling, the same cannot be said for mutton and beef prices.

Federated Farmers is questioning the need for a National Party proposal for a compulsory ban on dairy cattle from all waterways.

Allied Farmers, which is rebuilding from a disastrous takeover of the Hanover and United Finance loan books has returned to profit.

A majority of voters approve of farm sales to foreigners only when it brings a significant advantage over a New Zealand buyer such as jobs, according to the latest Herald-DigiPoll survey.

This year hasn't been kind to the US agricultural sector, just ask John Deere, the world's largest manufacturer of farming machinery.

The field of robotics has well and truly taken off in the past few decades, boosted by increasing innovation and a significant drop in the cost of materials.

We've been the butt of sheep jokes for generations, but New Zealand's flock is in decline.

As prices for iron ore are projected to slip, cattle is becoming more attractive to Australian mining companies.

Conservatives leader Colin Craig has won an eleventh-hour High Court scrap over his exclusion from a televised political debate.

Prime Minister John Key made an assurance no more than 2 per cent of New Zealand's farmland was foreign-owned.

An egg farmer who admitted duping consumers by passing off 2.47 million eggs from caged hens as free-range has claimed the practice is widespread.

Why are dairy prices falling? Well, if you read industry commentary from places like the United States and Europe they know who's to blame. It's us.

Overseas sale of 13,800ha station would be a tragedy, says Conservative leader

Chinese company Shanghai Pengxin confirmed it is aiming to buy a $70 million North Island farm, which would be second-largest foreign purchase of New Zealand land.

The old Sony factory in Japan's Miyagi Prefecture is up and running again. But this time it's an indoor farm that is the largest of its kind.

The National Policy Statement (NPS) for freshwater may not have razzmatazz, but it arose from that exercise in consensual collaboration called the Land and Water Forum.