Stories by Alexa Cook

Beef and Lamb New Zealand is defending the farming sector, after a rural economist said it was not addressing its challenges.

Sheep measles rates are continuing to fall with another drop the detection rate in lambs processed this season.

The government's goal of a zero-carbon economy by 2050 is unachievable if farming stays the way it is today, agribusiness leader Mandy Bell says.

There needs to be a move into organic and biological farming if New Zealand wants to tackle the threat of alternative protein foods, a farmer says.

The farming sector needs to wake up to environmental challenges after being in a bubble under the previous government, a rural economist says.

A battle is heating up between New Zealand and Australian honey producers over what constitutes mānuka honey.

A bad batch of fungicide has ruined apples in the Nelson region and some fruit will be destroyed instead of exported, a grower says.

The new policies announced by the incoming government this week are a mixed bag for the rural sector, Federated Farmers says.

The rise in human exposure to glyphosate proves people ingest it when eating Roundup-sprayed crops, the lead researcher says.

A potentially deadly farming-related disease is making its way into urban populations.

Farmers are nervous about potential restrictions on immigration by the new government and want to know what deals have been struck on policies.

The Real Estate Institute is expecting a surge of dairy farms to hit the market in Waikato and Southland.

The police are urging farmers to be on the look out for stock thieves and poachers over the long weekend.

Farmers remain nervous about the cattle disease, mycoplasma bovis, despite the Ministry for Primary Industries (MPI) being cautiously optimistic that it was under control.

A Waikato farmer is pushing for the government to provide better mental health support for the rural sector.

A disease that can kill cattle is worse this year than others, a Northland farmer says.

A Bay of Plenty farmer says this has been the toughest year of farming in his 35 years on the land.

About 20 percent of farmers are not up to scratch with new health and safety regulations, WorkSafe says.

The number of deaths and serious injuries in the farming sector have dropped this year.

The Hawkes Bay apple industry is negotiating with Napier's port over two proposed levies the sector says could cost it millions of dollars.

A surge of overseas interest in New Zealand thoroughbreds is boosting the fortunes of provincial towns associated with the industry.

Nelson Marlborough Health is investigating two cases of salmonella gastroenteritis among farm workers in the Murchison area.

Artificial intelligence for testing wine grape quality is predicted to boost the industry's profits and cut back on manual labour.

Rapid change in the food sector could mean eight out of the top 10 global food companies out of business in the next decade, a researcher says.

Scientists are investigating the potential for a new commercial crop of a "super" hybrid blueberry with the colourful flesh of bilberries.