Joyce this week got cabinet approval to develop what he calls "the New Zealand Investment Attraction Strategy".

The New Zealand average retail price of a 500g jar of honey has risen to about $10 - when it should be around $6 under normal market conditions.

Graeme Platt faced three charges over the possession of banned imported exotic kauri tree seeds, and growing 30 of the trees at the Auckland Botanic Gardens.

The high death-rate of lambs at a farm in Saudi Arabia that will act as a model for Kiwi agribusiness could have been caused by a sand storm, Primary Industries Minister Nathan Guy says.

Lambs born after the airfreighting of 900 pregnant ewes to a businessman’s Saudi farm suffered an extremely high death rate, it has been claimed.

The export of kauri logs as Maori carvings is closely monitored and is not being used as a loophole, Primary Industries Minister Nathan Guy says.

Government scientists promise to keep a close eye on three scallop fisheries from where they have received reports of deformed, watery and stunted specimens.

Concern is stirring over the health of several scallop fisheries after an investigation has detected the spread of a new parasite to North Island waters.

A ship carrying 50,000 New Zealand sheep and 3000 cattle on a 11,000km trip is only required to have one veterinarian on board, the Ministry of Primary Industries says.

The Green Party has criticised the Government over plans to export 50,000 live sheep to Mexico.

A whopping shipment of New Zealand sheep and cattle to Mexico has sparked concern from animal welfare organisation Safe.

MPI forecasts revenue from primary industries will drop to $35.2 billion in the year to June.

A taxpayer grant of $11 million to farm wagyu cattle will benefit an overseas businessman at the centre of the Saudi farm controversy.

IrrigationNZ said the $25 million in extra funding for irrigation projects announced in the Budget would help boost development of water storage and infrastructure.

The Bay of Plenty accounts for 5.7 per cent of the national GDP and 6.6 per cent of employment. But its economic growth has been slightly behind the national average.

A Rotomanu farmer who stood trial in March for his part in the starvation and death of nearly 800 cows has been found guilty.

A small stinky insect invading New Zealand has triggered a spate of new border security measures.

A man has been banned from owning livestock for 20 years after failing to provide six calves with sufficient food.

A man illegally selling wild goat meat for human consumption has lost his high court appeal against conviction.

Two vehicles have been seized by authorities after eight people were caught with more than 10,000 cockles leaving an estuary north of Christchurch on Monday.

Prosecutions of 15 butchers and three company directors over illegal chemicals found in raw meat shows a "dereliction of duty" by the Ministry for Primary Industries in its failure to monitor food, the Labour Party says.

Fifteen butchers and three company directors have been prosecuted for the illegal use of sulphites and sulphur dioxide in raw meat.

Parts of the South Island have experienced sporadic bursts of rain in recent weeks but Marlborough and Canterbury are still waiting for the big drought breaker.

Sanford, New Zealand's largest listed fishing group, is in consultations with 232 staff who look likely to lose their jobs at the company.

Two bouncy, wriggly beagle puppies will be spending their first Easter as trainee biosecurity detector dogs. Brother and sister Charleston and Roxy are only 10 weeks old but are already two weeks into their Ministry for Primary Industries (MPI) training programme.