Foot-in-mouth
OPINION: The Hound hears from his canine pals in Southland that an individual's derogatory remarks on social media have left them wishing they had kept their mouth firmly closed.
Southland’s state of emergency has been extended.
The state of emergency, which includes Fiordland, has been extended until Tuesday 18 February.
The decision was made by at a joint committee meeting, says Emergency Management Southland controller Angus McKay.
Members of all the local councils and other emergency services partners were at the meeting.
“We are still assessing the impact of the floodwaters in many areas in Southland and we have parts of Fiordland that are closed and need to remain so,” says McKay.
A co-ordinated response led by Civil Defence in Southland is still needed at this stage.
“We are working hard to plan the recovery phase and that will happen in due course.”
Southland and parts of Otago were flooded after a bout of heavy rain last week.
When American retail giant Cosco came to audit Open Country Dairy’s new butter plant at the Waharoa site and give the green light to supply their American stores, they allowed themselves a week for the exercise.
Fonterra chair Peter McBride says the divestment of Mainland Group is their last significant asset sale and signals the end of structural changes.
Thirty years ago, as a young sharemilker, former Waikato farmer Snow Chubb realised he was bucking a trend when he started planting trees to provide shade for his cows, but he knew the animals would appreciate what he was doing.
Virtual fencing and herding systems supplier, Halter is welcoming a decision by the Victorian Government to allow farmers in the state to use the technology.
DairyNZ’s latest Econ Tracker update shows most farms will still finish the season in a positive position, although the gap has narrowed compared with early season expectations.
New Zealand’s national lamb crop for the 2025–26 season is estimated at 19.66 million head, a lift of one percent (or 188,000 more lambs) on last season, according to Beef + Lamb New Zealand’s (B+LNZ) latest Lamb Crop report.

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