Stories by Peter Fowler

Fonterra is encouraging farmers to limit palm kernel extract as a supplementary feed for dairy cows.

A primary school pet day champion explains what it takes to successfully raise a pet lamb.

Hawke's Bay voters have overwhelmingly rejected a proposal to turn five of the region's councils into one. Audio

Today's drop in interest rates won't be a game changer for struggling dairy farmers, a farm accountant says.

The Farm Forestry Association is challenging what the government calls New Zealand's 'sustainable forestry story'.

Dozens of AFFCO meat workers have gathered in northern Hawke's Bay to protest against what they call an unfair contract offer by the plant's owner, Talley's.

The husband of a woman who died in a listeria outbreak wants the police to reopen their investigation, with a view to laying manslaughter charges.

The chairman of the Hawke's Bay Regional Council says if the council can't sell the minimum amount of water required to make the Ruataniwha dam viable, then it won't go ahead.

The board of inquiry into the $600 million Ruataniwha Dam in Hawke's Bay has confirmed strict nitrogen limits, prompting a challenge to the project's viability. Audio

The latest stage of a mission to better understand the earthquake and tsunami potential of an undersea fault system is getting under way. Audio

The New Zealand Deer Industry says a downturn in venison prices is being countered by strong growth in the use of deer velvet in health food products in Asia. Audio

Hawke's Bay Regional Council chairman Fenton Wilson has been accused of misleading the public with claims of 80 percent support for the Ruataniwha Dam.

Hawke's Bay had a mild year weather-wise - much to the joy of many - but plans to boost the economy proved difficult, as Peter Fowler reports. Audio

Hawke's Bay recreational fishers have recorded a steep decline in the amount of fish they are catching from the ocean and are blaming commercial overfishing. Audio

New Zealand's first Human Rights Review Tribunal hearing on an alleged breach of privacy on Facebook has wound up in Napier with the tribunal reserving its decision.

The head of a credit union has admitted it breached the privacy of a former employee by taking a private Facebook image and distributing it to employment agencies. Audio

The Hawke's Bay Regional Council is keeping secret the amount of money its investment company needs to continue developing the controversial Ruataniwha Dam project.

The Hawke's Bay Regional Council won't appeal an inquiry's final decision into the Ruataniwha Dam. Chairman Fenton Wilson says it believes the Tukituki River will be protected.

Former officer Adam Dunnett has been jailed 22 months for indecently assaulting young women, who say they have lost trust in police. A request for home detention was denied. Audio

Hawke's Bay Regional Council has voted to invest $80 million of ratepayers money in the Ruataniwha Dam subject to several conditions being met. The motion was passed 6-3. Audio

Hawke's Bay regional councillors are voting today on whether to invest $80 million of ratepayers money in the Ruataniwha Dam despite not knowing if the project is viable.

The Napier City Council was warned that estimated visitor numbers to the new museum were wildly inaccurate but councillors ignored that advice, former councillor John Harrison says. Audio

Tensions at the Hawke's Bay Regional Council over the Ruataniwha Dam are spilling over, with the leaking of an internal staff complaint about how councillors are behaving. Audio

The Hawke's Bay Regional Council's $600 million Ruataniwha water storage project has suffered another major setback, with Ngai Tahu announcing it won't be an investor. Audio