
Chinese want 50pc of Silver Fern Farms
Deal would increase dominance of New Zealand's biggest meat exporter but erode farmer control of the industry.
Deal would increase dominance of New Zealand's biggest meat exporter but erode farmer control of the industry.
Low world dairy prices aren't stopping the NZ industry - production was up 13pc last month from July last year.
Banks appear to have come to the party for NZ farmers needing support during the dairy downturn.
Fonterra's move to cut the amount it sells on its global dairy auction appears to have worked.
Crunch time is fast approaching for the farmer-funded industry group, Beef and Lamb New Zealand.
The grass-fed meat has fewer calories, less cholesterol or fat than beef, and consumers can't seem to get enough.
A day after the Government pushed new health and safety legislation through Parliament a sharemilker died in a quad bike accident on a Waikato property.
A person is dead after a quad bike accident on a farm in Waikato this morning.
State-owned farmer Landcorp said its profit fell by 84 per cent due mostly due to lower milk and lamb prices.
DairyNZ chairman John Luxton says it some TPP players are seeking to maintain trade protection rather than reduce it.
Farmers were given cause for cautious optimism after global dairy auction prices rallied by almost 15 per cent, ending a 10-sale losing streak.
Wholemilk powder prices rallied by 19.1 per cent at this morning's GlobalDairyTrade auction.
I like to see the glass half full, and I have the facts to back that view. If you still want to see the glass half empty - you're the loser, writes Mike Hosking.
Finance Minister Bill English won't rule out state farming company Landcorp having to sell more farms than usual to ensure it is not too loaded with debt.
Fonterra's forecast of a 2 per cent fall in milk production this season is looking more conservative by the day as farmers cull stock.
Fonterra's market share in the South Island has slipped beneath 80 per cent ending pro-competition provisions.
"There's nothing more depressing than knowing when those big tankers come on to your farm you are paying Fonterra to take your milk away."
Finance Minister Bill English remains confident about the prospects for economic growth, despite recent dairy woes.
Fonterra says it is significantly reducing the amount of product it puts up for sale on the GlobalDairyTrade auction platform over the next 12 months.
British farmers held an emergency summit this week, amid warnings that many are facing financial ruin because of plunging milk and meat prices.
Milk powder prices will need to improve substantially before Fonterra's revised farmgate milk price of $3.85 per kg of milk solids can become a reality, say analysts.
Failed Crafar farms bidder and fraud case defendant May Wang has failed to bar Hong Kong prosecutors from accessing seized documents.
$4.55 swing in forecast milk price paid to farmers over two seasons shows there's something wrong with NZ's dairy model, says Landcorp Farming CEO Steve Carden.
The country's biggest exporter has lowered its price from a previous forecast of $5.25 following sharp falls in whole milk powder prices.
Paparimu dairy farmer Craig Maxwell says farmers are worried about the survival of their farms.
A drop in the price of milk on supermarket shelves could be in store for New Zealanders - but not anytime soon, says supermarket chain Countdown.
Fonterra is expected to announce a sharp reduction in its farmgate milk price today.
Dairy farm prices are likely to fall this spring as the sector faces the prospect of two successive years of sub-par payouts, says the ANZ Bank
DairyNZ says New Zealand milk production is expected to fall by 2 or 3 per cent this season as farmers focus on improving the efficiency of their farming systems.