Country Calendar Celebrates 60 Years on NZ Screens
New Zealand's longest running television programme, the iconic Country Calendar, celebrated its 60th birthday in style in Wellington last week.
OPINION: The Hound notes that marketing/promotion couple and Lake Hawea Station owners Geoff and Justine Ross came in for a fair bit of criticism about their 'woke' farming practices after recently featuring on Country Calendar.
The couple claim - among other things - to run Australasia's first 'carbon certified zero' farm.
The Country Calendar piece featured shearing at Lake Hawea, where the shearing board was painted white, mattresses are placed at the bottom of the chute the sheep are put down, shearers must play classical music in the shed and each sheep is monitored on 'experience' rather than by a shearer's tally.
The episode recorded the most feedback the TV show has got this season - the vast majority less than positive.
To be fair, it is their money and their farm, so they should be able to do what they want, but could just ease up on lecturing others.
Matt McRae, a farmer from Mokoreta in Southland who runs a sheep, beef and dairy support business alongside a sheep stud, has been elected to the Beef +Lamb NZ Board as a farmer director.
Ravensdown's next evolution in smart farming technology, HawkEye Pro, was awarded the Technology Section Award at the Southern Field Days Farm Innovation Awards in February 2026.
While mariners may recognise a “dog watch” as a two-hour shift on a ship, the Good Dog Work Watch is quite a different concept and the clever creation of Southland siblings Grace (9) and Archer Brown (7), both pupils at Riverton Primary School.
Philip and Lyneyre Hooper of the Hoopman Family Trust have tonight been named the Taranaki Regional Supreme Winners at the Ballance Farm Environment Awards.
We are not a bunch of sky cowboys. That was one of the key messages from the chairperson of the NZ Agricultural Aviation Association (NZAAA) Kent Weir, speaking at an education day at Feilding aerodrome for 25 policymakers and regulators from central and local government and other rural professionals.
New Zealand's dairy and beef industries say they welcome the announcement that the Government will invest $10.49 million in the Dairy Beef Opportunities (DBO) programme.

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