Documents reveal Murray McCully met the businessman behind a controversial farm deal while in Saudi Arabia - despite his office saying he had no plans for such a meeting.

Fonterra will update its farmgate milk price and reveal earnings per share forecasts for 2016/17 on Monday.

The ninth birthday this week of Dolly the cloned sheep's four genetic siblings - Debbie, Denise, Diana and Daisy - prove that large cloned animals age normally, say scientists.

Biologists are adding a gene to the DNA of the pigeon pea, in hopes of boosting export output by 30 per cent.

The dairy downturn has driven farmer-owned co-operative, Livestock Improvement Corp into the red.

A gain in whole milk powder offset a fall for most other products in the latest overnight dairy auction.

Farm prices are on the way down, led by an 18 per cent decline in the dairy sector over the past 12 months.

Fonterra Cooperative Group's New Zealand milk collection fell 10 per cent in the first month of the 2017 season, a typically low production period.

Claudio Da Costa, 47, told MPI investigators he used scissors because it was a 'quick and cheap fix for the problem'.

Manuka honey is making a big comeback with plans to develop a $1.2 billion honey industry.

Northland farmers and possum trappers are being warned to take care around animals after a spike in cases of leptospirosis. Leptospirosis

New Zealand commodity prices rose for a second month in June, led by more seafood and dairy products.

Milk processing firm Miraka is tripling production to meet a growing thirst for its UHT products in China.

Fonterra's opposite number in Australia has announced A$4.31 per kg of milksolids as its opening farmgate milk price for the season.

A woman is in hospital with arm and chest injuries after being kicked in the chest by a cow in Hawkes Bay.

Farmers Dairy chairman Andrew Hoggard says dairy farmers need to ask themselves what a smart level of debt is given the risk profile for the next decade.

Some farmers are seeing sales drop as customers want prepared foods more than produce.

Fonterra chief executive Theo Spierings has reshuffled the roles of some of his top managers for the third time this year.

Attendance at Fieldays on day two of the four-day agricultural event was up 10 per cent on the same day last year.

Doug Avery knows what it's like to be depressed.

There is no "get out of jail free" card for dairy farmers in the current dairy downturn.

The crankholder is set to revolutionise the fencing industry ... or at least make it much easier to build a fence.

COMMENT: How we treat animals matters, not just to animals, but to ourselves and overseas markets.

Attendance at Fieldays is running just slightly below this time last year, despite the current slump in dairy prices.

A2 Milk shares rose 14 per cent after the milk marketing company raised its full-year guidance.

New Zealand's primary sector needs to innovate and reinvent itself if it is to thrive, KMPG says.

Without immigrant labour, US dairy farms would close, output drop and consumers pay twice as much for milk.

Big buys at annual agricultural event are likely to be lower on the shopping list for some who are hurting, especially dairy farmers.

COMMENT: A number of recent developments highlight concerns about the corporate governance of rural-based companies.