Sally Brooker

A little kunekune pig nearly stole the show in Oamaru on Saturday.

A Christchurch woman staying with her sister in a quiet Oamaru street has had her car badly damaged by dogs that also left a stray cat dead at the scene.

A new New Zealand study shows farmers aged in their 60s and over 70 die in the highest numbers in farm work accidents.

Foveran Deer Park’s 37th annual elite sire stag sale on January 11 attracted ‘‘a good gallery of buyers’’, stud manager Barry Gard said.

A rural road in North Otago has turned into a photography hot spot.

Sisters growing up on a North Otago dairy farm have leapt into national prominence.

A national beef survey is starting this month as part of the programme to eradicate cattle disease Mycoplasma bovis.

The farmer who topped the recent Christchurch ram fair with a Suffolk is just as fond of the Corriedale breed.

North Otago farmers Murray and Gaynor Smith say they feel like they’ve been branded ‘‘unclean’’ as a result of being caught up in the Mycoplasma bovis outbreak.

Buyers from across New Zealand are expected to make a pilgrimage to the Hakataramea Valley next month.

Mycoplasma bovis has been a case of New Zealand losing its innocence, Mark Woods says.

Strong commodity prices are not enough to make farmers happy, DairyNZ chief executive Tim Mackle says.

Gratitude is one way to emerge from depression, farming advocate Sarah Perriam says.

''Staying Positive - changing your mindset in uncertain times'' was the title of two gatherings run by Beef + Lamb New Zealand last week.

The controversial irrigation pipe between Kurow and the Waitaki Dam will eventually be placed below ground level.

Oamaru Meats is still working through the problems that forced it to shut down in September.

The response from rural New Zealand to the Government's proposed freshwater policy is ''at a scale that's taken their breath away'', Todd Muller says.

The Waimate Shears continues to attract top competitors and praise for its smooth running.

Only one southern farmer is standing for the DairyNZ board of directors.

Shearers are unlikely to make enough money to buy a farm these days, but money and travel are still two perks of the job.