6th May 2026 // Rural News in partnership with Farmlands

Dairy prices rebound after back to back auction falls Federated Farmers backs local Government reform push Farmers want imported meat and eggs to meet NZ welfare standards   Rural News is in partnership with Farmlands as part of CountryWide CONNECT with Andy Thompson & Sarah Perriam-Lampp - our daily rural show livestreamed from 11am-1pm. Visit country-wide.co.nz on how to watch / listen.   Dairy prices rebound after back to back auction falls Dairy prices have bounced back at the Global Dairy Trade auction overnight, ending a slide that had seen two consecutive falls totalling more than six percent. The GDT Price Index rose one-point-five percent following a two-point-seven percent fall a fortnight ago and a three-point-four percent drop at the start of April. NZX dairy analyst Rosalind Crickett says a nine percent drop in volumes sold, as the current season winds down drove the lift. She says buyers appear to be locking in future orders before input costs become unmanageable, with Middle East tensions continuing to push up fuel, fertiliser and feed costs. Whole milk powder rose two-point-two percent, skim milk powder gained three percent, and buttermilk powder surged nine percent. Butter slipped two-point-six percent, weighed down by ample cream supply as the northern hemisphere production season gets underway.   Federated Farmers backs local Government reform push Federated Farmers is welcoming Government moves to reform local government, saying the current system simply isn't working for farmers or rural communities — and councils should get on with it. The Government has given councils a three-month window to put forward their own proposals to simplify and strengthen local government in their regions, with the alternative being Wellington making those decisions for them. Federated Farmers local government spokesperson Sandra Faulkner says ratepayers across the country have lost confidence in a system that hasn't kept pace with how communities have changed over the past thirty years. The organisation is backing a model of unitary councils — merging regional and district responsibilities, which could reduce the current seventy-eight councils to fewer than forty. Faulkner says strong provincial representation is non-negotiable, and Federated Farmers will only back reforms that lock that in.   Farmers want imported meat and eggs to meet NZ welfare standards Nearly eight in ten New Zealand farmers want imported animal products held to the same welfare standards as those required of domestic producers — and the same proportion want political parties to commit to making it happen. The findings come from a Curia Market Research poll of one-thousand farmers, commissioned by advocacy group Animal Policy International. The poll was conducted in April ahead of this year's election. Walt Cavendish of Farming With Walt says the message is clear — if it's sold in New Zealand, it should meet New Zealand standards. He says farmers are proud to meet some of the world's highest animal welfare requirements, but shouldn't be undercut by imports produced under systems banned here. New Zealand outlawed sow stalls in 2016 and barren battery cages in 2023 — yet products from both systems continue to be imported and sold alongside New Zealand goods. A member's bill addressing the welfare gap currently sits in the parliamentary biscuit tin. The Government's product labelling review is due to report in June.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.