Sally Rae

Winning an award for growth in the Chinese market reflects the hard work and energy that Alliance Group has invested in China, marketing general manager Murray Brown says.

New Zealand's sheepmeat sector must retain sufficient scale and market presence to be able to capitalise as conditions improve in established export markets, a newly released Rabobank report says.

Craig Smith has a fairly hefty business goal - to create the world's most successful online education system.

From working in a skifield to running a farm and then establishing various businesses in China, Twizel-born Jade Gray has packed plenty of adventure into his life. He talks to business reporter Sally Rae about everything from pizza to doing business in China.

Dairy giant Fonterra has the ambitious target of producing up to one billion litres of milk from 30 farms in China by 2020, to cater for the massive burgeoning demand by Chinese for dairy products. Agribusiness reporter Sally Rae tours one of the Fonterra farms, near Beijing.

Achieving a South Island record price of $71,000 for a Hereford bull was ''absolutely'' a farming highlight for the Douglas family of Te Anau.

''It's a good time to be a dairy farmer,'' Stephen Crawford observed yesterday, following Fonterra's announcement of a $7/kg of milk solids opening forecast farmgate price for the 2013-14 season.

When it comes to painting animals, it's all about the details.

The importance of communication has been stressed by those involved with Mitchell and Webster Group - the supreme winner of this year's Otago Ballance farm environment awards.

An industry-backed trip to Asia has given Blair and Jane Smith a deeper understanding of the challenges facing marketers of New Zealand meat and dairy products.

When Tzu Chen first saw camellia trees flourishing at a neighbouring property in Waikato, it sowed the seed of what could have been viewed as an impossible dream.

Fonterra's release yesterday of a final price on its listed shareholder units could provide debt-laden or drought-affected dairy farmers with a cash windfall.

Canterbury milk processor Synlait Milk Ltd has announced plans to list on the stock exchange.

A challenging year for farmers is expected to be reflected in PGG Wrightson's full-year result, the farm services company predicting a substantial drop in earnings.