Any move to introduce a capital gains, land or environment tax will meet stiff opposition from farmers, a Federated Farmers survey shows. The Federation asked its members for their views last month, to help inform the farmer group’s submission...... Read More

Another farm near Ashburton has been confirmed as having mycoplasma bovis, bringing the total number in Mid Canterbury to seven. The Ministry for Primary Industries made the announcement late on Friday, at the same time confirming another Canterbury...... Read More

Lifestyle blocks could pose a greater threat to productive land than urban sprawl, a government report shows. The Our Land 2018 report from the Ministry for the Environment shows more than 35 percent of Auckland's most fertile soil has been consumed...... Read More

A Te Kowhai dairy farmer has been convicted and fined $35,625 in the Hamilton District Court for allowing large volumes of dairy effluent to overflow into the environment. The contamination was identified during a routine inspection by Waikato Regional...... Read More

Much of the work farmers have underway to improve water quality has the co-benefit of improving soil quality and reducing greenhouse gas emissions, says DairyNZ chief executive Tim Mackle.   Dr Mackle is responding to the Ministry for the Environment’s...... Read More

A commercial diagnostic tool which will allow farmers to test for cattle disease Mycoplasma bovis themselves is being developed by a partnership comprising commercial laboratories, industry representatives and the Ministry for Primary Industries (MPI). The...... Read More

Federated Farmers says all the hard work being done to improve our freshwater quality is starting to pay off. The release of the National River Water Quality Trends by Land, Air, Water Aotearoa (LAWA) show that many more sites are improving than deteriorating...... Read More

The Ministry for Primary Industries is committed to helping farmers affected by the cattle disease Mycoplasma bovis receive their due compensation, and is working hard to process all current claims. MPI’s Director of Response, Geoff Gwyn says...... Read More

Last year $90,000 was returned to rural communities with AFFCO’s Cash for Calves programme, and the meat supplier is encouraging farmers to sign up again this year and get behind the cause. National Livestock Manager Tom Young, says that it’s...... Read More

New Zealand’s border biosecurity defenders have just been through their busiest summer on record, says the Ministry for Primary Industries. MPI biosecurity officers screened some 2 million passenger arrivals for risk goods between December and...... Read More