Sally Rae

Medikidz has marked a major milestone - selling a million copies of a series of comic books designed to help children around the world understand medical conditions.

Mike Allpress has come a long way from serving espresso coffee in paper cups from a barrow at the Victoria Park market in Auckland. Sally Rae reports.

Reasonable conditions this lambing should see a rise in the total number of lambs by 2 million - up 8% - pushing export lamb production back towards 20.5 million head in 2011-12.

The strong New Zealand dollar might be helping to keep a lid on inflation but it is costing export returns, Federated Farmers national president Bruce Wills has warned.

Dunedin woman Lou Clifton has created an artisan leather-working business, hand-crafting baby shoes which are inspired by classic vintage designs.

When Davey and Maggie Hughes established outdoor clothing company Swazi 17 years ago, he candidly admits they were"hillbillies".

Lower South Island farmers are bucking the national trend with a decrease in confidence about general economic conditions, the latest Federated Farmers confidence survey has shown.

The workhorse in the sheep industry is still a productive ewe, Lincoln University-based agricultural scientist and lecturer Dr Jon Hickford says.

It is a long way from managing a farm in the UK to being a research fellow in Dunedin - but Dr Marion Johnson has led an interesting life.

Adrian Lawson has shied away from the composite sheep route, preferring to stick with Romneys.

Dave McCabe, a North Otago contractor and farmer, has devised a method of pulling strings from bales on feed-out wagons that saves time and machinery.

Fonterra Brands New Zealand has responded to pressure and confirmed it will reduce butter and cheese prices next month in line with international price decreases, after separate reports put the dairy giant's pricing under close scrutiny.

Dr Fernanda da Silva Tatley is not scared to make changes, even if they bring quite significant consequences - "because that's part of life".

United States dairy company DairyAmerica will begin selling dairy products on Fonterra's online auction site GlobalDairyTrade from October 4.

Orcon chief executive Scott Bartlett describes the launch of New Zealand's first mass-market device to put phone calls over broadband connections as a "game changer" for the country.

Fonterra is investing $US40 million ($NZ47 million) in developing a third dairy farm in China.

Jayne Rive attributes her love of merino sheep to growing up on remote Halfway Bay Station.

Thousands of former Otago secondary pupils are becoming involved in a novel initiative which organisers hope will result in future investment in the region and local economy.

Otago-Southland has improved marginally on its May result in a services industry activity index released yesterday, but remains in contraction for the sixth consecutive month.