Melinda Pavey's decision to enforce the pumping embargo with no concessions would have let more water downstream, hence the irony in the Greens' position.

When the government makes its decision later this year, it won't just be making a decision about whether to give the go ahead to a new mine, but also a decision about the future of agriculture on the Breeza Plain.

Government, telcos yet to fill in the 5G gaps for farms and country towns.

Do the deeper pockets of foreign-owned - and sometimes sovereign-backed - companies present a better prospect of paying dairy farmers a better price for their milk?