Dairy Farming
Smashing pumpkins: the dairy farmer turned seed-grower
Tom Welch is tired of dairying and has been looking for another way to make money from the family farm. He’s begun growing pumpkin seeds – and thinks he may be the only person in New Zealand… Audio
Proud to be a dairy farmer
Invercargill contract milker Tangaroa Walker is looking at drying off his herd of 500 cows after a great season. He says milk production is up 15 percent on last year and grass and winter crops are… Video, Audio
Welsh winners: the dairy farming couple with a passion for people
Marc Lloyd Jones and Nia Wyn Jones have been keeping tabs on the New Zealand dairy industry for years. They moved here in 2016 and this year were named Waikato's share-farmer of the year. Last weekend… Audio
Beefing up Cows
Ag Consultant Phil Journeaux says skinny cows take months to recover and will cost farmers next season because they'll be too thin to be productive. Audio
Confidence Crisis in Dairying
A Waikato farmer and former farming leader Malcolm Lumsden says 50 percent of the dairy farmers in his district want to leave the industry. He says paperwork, a fear of prosecution and a back-lash… Audio
To Sell or Not to Sell - Westland's farmers deliberate
Westland Dairy Products farmer shareholders are mulling over whether they should sell their co-op to privately-owned company, Yili. Audio
Multiple income streams flow from hill country farm
Diversification is the keyword for Mt Somers Station owners David and Kate Acland. As well as farming cross-bred sheep, beef cattle and deer on the 3800-hectare South Canterbury hill property, the… Audio
Farmers call for independence over high country farming
Federated Farmers is expressing fears that its members with long-term leases on Crown land may be prevented from developing their properties. Audio
Up and go on an Ubco, the Kiwi-designed utility bike
The New Zealand designers of the Ubco utility bike reckon if it can cope with conditions on a New Zealand dairy farm it can cope with anything. The white electric bikes are now being sent to the USA… Audio
When the Spore Counts
Vet and researcher Winston Mason says many dairy farmers are failing to prevent facial eczema despite taking measures to keep it at bay. Audio
Fonterra's Open Gates Open Day
People have flocked to register to visit Fonterra farms this weekend. Three times the number of people who visited open farms last year want to see farming in action this year. Audio
Up the creek and off the grid: putting the power back into West Coast farming
Graham Berry has a dairy farm just south of Franz Josef. The born-and-bred West Coaster borrows water from a creek on DOC land to drive a 55-kiloWatt, hydro-electric scheme. Audio, Gallery
From jodhpurs to jerseys - and back again
Matthew Grayling hopes to keep competing on the world equestrian stage — as long as it doesn't coincide with calving season. Audio
M bovis notice to cull: 'You just suffer in silence'
Henk Smit is hurting. M Bovis has been found in his herd and that means culling 800 calves and cows from two farms. He's finding attending to the paperwork and dealing with agencies managing the… Audio
Lait of the Land
Canterbury dairy farmers Wendy and Lance Main are former 'townies'. After working their way up the share-milking ladder, the couple now produce premium milk on their own 250 hectares near Oxford. Audio
50 years at Fieldays: Part Two
Geoff Laurent credits the agricultural event Fieldays with helping him grow his farming and veterinary equipment business into a multi-million dollar enterprise. He's been every year since it began. Audio, Gallery
Concern for Calves
Ken Eade milks 550 cows with his son Bruce at Kelso in West Otago. Like most other dairy farmers he is concerned about the spread of Mycoplasma Bovis and the potential impact it will have on the… Audio
Farmers at country club: ‘We want to stop the spread’
The Mycoplasma bovis 'road show' headed to Makuri, near Palmerston North, today. John Campbell called the Makuri Country Club to speak to farmers. First up was dairy farmer and Tararua District Mayor… Video, Audio
Living with Mycoplasma Bovis
Jakob Malmo is a vet working in Gippsland, Australia and says M. Bovis must be very carefully managed but farmers there have learned to live with it. Audio
From cow paddocks to corporate offices
West Coast dairy farmer Katie Milne talks about life on the farm at Rotomanu, educating kids about agriculture, confronting environmental issues and some of the other challenges she's faced so far as… Audio