Neal Wallace

Nearly 1kg of carbon dioxide is generated in producing one litre of milk and 85% of the greenhouse gas emissions are generated on-farm.

North Island-based director Ian Grogan has resigned from the board of Silver Fern Farms citing "fundamental and philosophical differences".

Dairy farmers appear unlikely to net a financial windfall by changing dairy companies, as Fonterra's forecast milk price has set a benchmark.

Gerald Holmes is preparing for a 10% drop in income next season, but the Taieri dairy farmer warns that the country, not just he, will suffer from Fonterra's reduced payout.

The dairy industry received further bad news yesterday with milk powder prices falling 12% on internet-based trading platform globalDairyTrade.

Fonterra's forecast last week of a 12% drop in its milk price next season sent a shiver down the spine of many dairy farmers. A report by investment bank Macquarie Group on the scale of indebtedness of New Zealand farmers may be one reason for that reaction. Agribusiness editor Neal Wallace reports.

Dunedin specialist vehicle lender, Motor Trade Finances (MTF), has reported an improved interim profit due to lower costs and improved margins.

Agri-businessman Stuart Nattrass has some sympathy with Macquarie Group's concern about the growing level of farm debt in New Zealand.

A Dunedin company is developing a honey map of New Zealand in an effort to stop overseas companies branding inferior-quality honey as coming from New Zealand.

Affco Holdings has reported a six-month profit of $21.82 million, nearly double its interim profit a year earlier.

Banks are redoing the budgets of their dairy farmer clients who are preparing to tighten their belts after the wings of the former industry darling were well and truly clipped yesterday.

Falling international commodity prices have enabled the Ravensdown fertiliser co-operative to reduce prices for most of its products for the third time this year.

Dunedin engineering company Realcold Millers Mechanical has been included in the Ovine Automation Ltd consortium, a newly formed industry body created to develop automated processing technology for the sheep-meat industry.

Applying liquid effluent to 80ha of clay downs on Telford Rural Polytechnic's dairy farm could boost pasture production by 20%, participants at a field day were told recently.