Fury is fermenting among Queenstown’s Gibbston vineyard owners and viticulturists who claim an Auckland rich-lister’s inaction could undermine the local wine industry.
Craig and Anna Whiteside, of Waiwera South, are in the running for the Arable Farmer of the Year award as judges try to select a winner from "arable’s best and brightest".
Canterbury’s arable farmers are keeping a close watch for any upwards movement in grain prices after a Russian missile attack on a Ukrainian port last month.
A good season for the South Island’s fledgling maize crop will hardly soften the blow of a northern harvest stripped by Cyclone Gabrielle and many downpours.
South Canterbury arable farmer Andrew Darling’s bold step to move away from industry-standard nitrogen applications on most of his crops saved him 50kg of nitrogen per hectare last season.