Hokitika-based Westland Milk Products chief executive Rod Quin has given notice of his resignation after seven years in the job.

House prices rising and no recovery in dairy prices both pose threats to New Zealand banks, Standard & Poor says.

New Zealand could miss the boat as an exporter of medicinal cannabis, horticulture expert Dr Mike Nichols said.

Late start to the season means apple growers will face a race against time to have fruit picked, raising concerns about the availability of labour.

Finance Minister Bill English says dairy prices will never reach $8 a kilogram again, but he is confident farmers will get through a drop in payouts and rising debt levels.

State-owned Landcorp and China's Shanghai Pengxin Group - the company that bought the distressed Crafar farms in 2012 - are about to part company.

Dairy prices are expected to weaken again by up to 10 per cent at this week's global dairy auction as market continues to suffer from over-production.

It is time for the industry and the politicians to take off their rose-tinted glasses and do some hard-thinking about our major goods export industry, writes Fran O'Sullivan.

Environment Canterbury is standing by its decision not to fine or prosecute Chief Justice Dame Sian Elias and her businessman husband Hugh Fletcher after photos emerged of their cattle drinking out of a North Canterbury lake.

For the primary sector the TPP confers boundless opportunities not only for agriculture but for future generations of New Zealanders and their prosperity, writes William Rolleston.

New Zealand shares fell as weaker commodity prices weighed on equities in countries dependent on exports of raw materials.

Fonterra's latest farmgate milk price forecast is already under downward pressure after dairy prices fell for the third time in a row at this morning's GlobalDairyTrade auction.

Dairy farmers are bracing themselves for still more falls in product prices at tomorrow's Global Dairy Trade auction.

Fonterra posed the question of whether a board stacked with farmers has the right skills to drive a global business.

Synlait Milk has revised its forecast milk price for the 2015 / 2016 season from $5.00 per kilogram to $4.20.

Banks say more heavily indebted New Zealand dairy farmers will be asked to sell up as non-performing loans increase.

Dairy Farms NZ - likely to list on the NZ stock exchange, has been given permission to buy up South Island farms.

Australasian infant formula stocks have proved a pretty good bet lately.

Weakening world dairy prices have pushed Fonterra this morning to announce a cut in its payout to farmers.

Leading international credit rating agency has downgraded its outlook for New Zealand's economy.

Dry conditions helped drive lamb and mutton returns down in the December quarter, while beef prices remained at near record levels.

Fonterra chief executive Theo Spierings said more pain lies ahead for farmers as dairy prices continue to weaken and as oil prices plummet.