National calls for debt relief as mounting toll of big dry ruins businesses and suicides rise among farmers.

Federated Farmers chief executive Conor English said he would not rule out a career in politics when he steps down as chief executive of the farmers' group in July.

My heart sank when I heard about Fonterra's idea to reduce the dairy industry's impact on our environment, writes Sue Kedgley.

Economists say a combination of rising international dairy prices and favourable farming conditions bode well for New Zealand's economic growth.

So little sunlight is being shone on how we are dealing with water and emissions ...

Fonterra has raised 1.25 billion renminbi in its second Chinese currency denominated bond, which it will use to repay debt and expand operations in China.

All commercial users of water should face a charge, writes Gareth Morgan and Geoff Simmons. This would acknowledge public ownership of the rivers and create funds to invest in repairing them.

"Somehow he got flattened." The wife of a Tihoi farmer who suffered "bumps and bruises" after being sat on by a cow is still unsure how the accident happened.

A farmer who was seriously injured when a cow kicked him and sat on him near Taupo is now in a stable condition.

A farmer has been seriously injured by a cow near Taupo.

Officials in New Zealand's leading oil and gas region are rejecting claims that cows are being allowed to graze on land polluted by waste from mining and fracking operations.

Three banks facing potential legal action from the competition watchdog over their sale of interest rate swap contracts to farmers say they will continue to co-operate with the commission.

Many city-dwellers may still peg rural women as domestic types, but modern farming women are on the land or in the office, running big businesses and driving the exports that are the backbone of NZ's economy.

Italy's Barilla family, founders of the world's largest pasta company, have paid $25m to buy a South Island dairy farm from Federated Farmers chairman Willy Leferink and his wife.

Australia's largest dairy cooperative Murray Goulburn (MG) looks set to follow Fonterra in adopting a specialised financial instrument to expand its capital base while retaining exclusive farmer ownership and control.

For a split second, Catlins farmer Brian Lemm felt his life hanging in the balance. Standing in the middle of a paddock, he froze as a spotlight stopped on him.

Fonterra chief executive Theo Spierings says the company is "eight to 10 years" behind other dairy players overseas when it comes to sustainability.

People who farm unusual breeds tell Dionne Christian why they find it so appealing.

Every day, millions of tons of inadequately treated sewage, industrial and agricultural waste enters the world's waterways, writes Sam Judd.

A Mid Canterbury herd manager who admitted breaking the tails of at least 154 cows has been sentenced to eight months' home detention and will have to apply to own animals in the future.

Sam Judd writes that perhaps the biggest environmental problem we currently face is the contamination of our waterways by nutrients.

A mild winter and a favourable spring have boosted confidence in the New Zealand beef industry after last summer's challenging drought, says Rabobank.