Sally Rae

Turning effluent into electricity is one way Natasha King hopes to help solve one of the major issues in New Zealand's dairy industry.

Earlier this week, Owen Poole officially retired as chairman and as a director of Southland-based Alliance Group. The straight-talking meat industry veteran talks to agribusiness reporter Sally Rae about his lengthy tenure in the red-meat sector.

Environmental challenges and a generally ''tough'' market has seen Ngai Tahu Tourism experience one of its toughest operating years ever, with earnings nearly halving from the previous financial year.

Employement confidence around New Zealand may have waned slightly after four quarters of improvement, but business sentiment has been described as ''soaring''.

Sitting in a tiny bedsit in the United Kingdom, Hayden Breese surrounded himself with ''bits of paper'' and mapped out his future business.

New York and Karitane might not appear to have a lot in common; but for Mark Grocott and Emma Farry, they have been superb places to both live and work.

When three Otago Polytechnic information technology students got through to the top 40 of the Audacious business challenge, they were ''really stoked''.

''A great story'' for Dunedin's manufacturing sector is how Milmeq chief executive Mike Lightfoot describes the awarding of an $A18 million ($NZ21.7 million) contract to provide processing technology to a new beef plant in Australia's Northern Territory.

Federated Farmers Otago president Stephen Korteweg says he is heartened by an assurance that dry stock farm system capability to support deer, sheep and beef farming will be retained at Invermay, and that AgResearch's linkage with the University of Otago's genetics team will be maintained.

Three young Dunedin start-up enthusiasts are heading to Malaysia next month for what they believe will be the trip of a lifetime.

A dairy supply crisis in China is likely to help delay any significant softening in world dairy prices - already at exceptionally high levels - until next year, analysts say.

Fonterra's forecast farmgate milk price, which rose a further 50c yesterday, could be revised higher still, Westpac's chief economist Dominick Stephens said yesterday.

Mid Canterbury milk processor Synlait Milk has recorded an after-tax net profit of $11.5 million for the year to July, up $7.1 million on the previous year.

Sarah Ramsay has some big dreams.

Department of Conservation policies need to ensure that high country horse heritage is remembered, fostered and supported, horse-trekking enthusiasts say.