Sally Rae

When Chris Dennison returned home to the family farm in North Otago, he realised he was not a natural stockman; but what he did discover was a passion for growing crops.

When Bill and Jenny Malcolm were married in 1992, land ownership was a common goal.

From entering the Ballance Farm Environment Awards to being named supreme winners of the Otago region, the journey has been "amazing" for South Otago couple Peter and Helen Gilder.

Beef and Lamb New Zealand and the Meat Industry Association have welcomed the prospect of a closer trade partnership with Taiwan, saying it is a key export beef market and also a significant sheep meat market.

Fonterra is dropping its milk payout forecast for the 2011-12 season by 45c, blaming a continued softness in commodity prices and a stronger New Zealand dollar.

Havoc has hit High St. Ian and Linda McCallum-Jackson, from free-range pig farm Havoc, at Hunter, near Waimate, have opened a store in Dunedin, opposite the Southern Cross Hotel.

The label says it all - Vindication.

Maniototo farmer Dawn Sangster is seeking a place on the Alliance Group board, motivated by a desire to contribute to New Zealand's sheep and beef industry and to put newly-honed leadership and governance skills to use.

Lean Meats has been hitting the road in the South Island, meeting farmers and telling its story.

Business is brisk for Yoann and Sandrine Feillet who operate an inbound French-speaking travel agency based in Dunedin. Established in 2004, Antipodes Travel organises custom-built itineraries for individual travellers and small groups, as Sally Rae reports.

Labour's proposal to hike high country property rents and drop the tenure review process in favour of direct acquisition is "tantamount to confiscation", Federated Farmers national board member William Rolleston says.

Quentin MacLeod jokes that he never got to play with a 250-tonne excavator in the sandpit at school.