Hurunui Water Project will seek money from a government fund to make progress on a $400 million dam.

Billion-dollar kiwifruit exporter Zespri is in damage control after the discovery of a suspected outbreak of a vine-killing disease in the Bay of Plenty.

READ ALSO: Kiwifruit scare hits Seeka, Satara first

The Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry Biosecurity New Zealand is investigating a report of symptoms of Pseudomonas syringae pv actinidiae (Psa).

More proof the dairy industry is climbing out of the economic despair of two years ago has come in the form of a fresh survey.

The Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry’s latest farm monitoring report suggests dairy profitability improved strongly during the 2009/10 season compared with the previous year but farmer confidence remains fragile.

MAF North Island manager Phil Journeaux said farmers were buoyed by Fonterra’s strong payout forecast.

The New Zealand primary sector will enjoy a ride on the backs of developing economies but a watchful eye needs to be kept on price volatility, according to a flagship Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry report.

MAF Director-General Murray Sherwin, speaking today at the Wellington launch of the annual Situation and Outlook for New Zealand Agriculture and Forestry (SONZAF), expressed relief at this year’s less turbulent economic outlook.

Detection of a case atypical scrapie in a sheep’s brain from New Zealand has mobilised the government to deny there is risk to the country’s scrapie-free status or to trade.

Atypical scrapie is a brain disease from the same family as bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE or mad cow disease), although it is not thought to be harmful to humans or even transfer between animals.