Dunedin-based Silver Fern Farms will be looking to raise around $100 million in new equity next year to repay debt, upgrade plant, and to accelerate its "value added" product strategy.

Keith Cooper headed up New Zealand's biggest meat company, Dunedin-based Silver Fern Farms, for eight years before stepping down in October.

Falling dairy prices have begun to undermine one of the foundations of the economic upswing, rising national income from the most favourable terms of trade.

Global dairy markets have plummeted but New Zealand beef prices have continued to hit record highs, while sheepmeat prices have stayed firm, Rabobank says.

The Dunedin-based meat company expects pretax earnings of $5m to $7m in the year ended Sept. 30 following losses the previous two years.

Landcorp's decision to take full control of New Zealand's largest red meat genetics business is an example of the state-owned enterprise's push to diversify its operations.

Two-way trade with China has doubled every five years since the early 1990s but the historic growth rates may not continue.

New Zealand meat companies abandoned efforts to consolidate and reduce surplus capacity last year because they lacked an agreed export strategy.

A meat worker who took a hook through his head from behind was dragged with the chain, as his workmate rushed to stop the machine.

New Zealand beef prices continued to rise in May and into this month as supplies tightened and international demand remained strong, says Rabobank in its monthly agribusiness update.

Religious leaders in the UK want all halal and kosher meat labelled with slaughter methods. With a large chunk of NZ lamb sold there, are our exports at risk?

Sheep and beef farm profits are expected to jump 35 per cent over 2013-14 from last year's drought-affected season.

Silver Fern Farms, the country's biggest meat processor, said it had hired PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) to undertake a review of the company after it suffered a $28.6 million loss for the September year.

Having the capability to build end-to-end meat processing and packaging systems is helping Milmeq win major deals on the world stage, says chief executive Mike Lightfoot.

Behind-the-scenes moves are under way to restructure the New Zealand meat industry.

The Auditor-General is to investigate a flagship Government project which involves millions in subsidies being paid to some of New Zealand's biggest primary sector businesses.

An agreement has been reached in Beijing to ensure New Zealand meat exports to China can resume on a normal basis.

New Zealand meat shipments stranded for weeks on Chinese wharves have received clearance from Chinese authorities, Primary Industries Minister Nathan Guy says.

New Zealand sheep and beef meat is still held up at the Chinese border and officials say the documentation required to get the ball rolling only arrived in China today.

John Key says the refusal by Chinese officials to clear containers of frozen meat being held at the border is simply because of confusion over documentation.

Chinese measures to curb sales of counterfeit meat may be a factor in millions of dollars of exported New Zealand meat being held up on Chinese wharves.

The tiny Outback town of Richmond, 400km east of Mt Isa in northwest Queensland, celebrated its annual fossil festival last week.

Pacific health experts are calling for a quota on the amount of fatty food exported to the Pacific Islands, where heart disease, diabetes and obesity are the norm.

A Samoan MP and former health minister has reignited calls on New Zealand to stop sending fatty meat to the Pacific Islands over health concerns.

Nearly 1000 farmers gathered in Gore yesterday to overwhelmingly support a mandate for change in the beleaguered red meat industry.