New Zealand’s Country Calendar Turns 60: Fans and Crew Celebrate
New Zealanders are spontaneously joining in the 60th birthday celebrations of the nation’s iconic rural programme, Country Calendar.
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.
Ashleigh Gordon and Leilani Lobb have been named as the two finalists for Dairy Women's Network's (DWN) 2026 Regional Leader of the Year Award.
Animal and Plant Health New Zealand (APHANZ) says the approval of a new fungicide seed treatment is a positive, however growers will be hoping the final approval is completed ahead of the spring season.
North Canterbury farmer Adam Williamson has been appointed DairyNZ's associate director for 2026-27.
Fonterra farmers are set for a multi-billion-dollar payout this week.
The 2026 Holstein Friesian NZ Young Breeders Development Programme is off to a strong start, with this year's intake coming together for their first event on March 18 and 19.
State farmer Pāmu (Landcorp) has announced it will pay a $10 million special dividend to the Crown off the back of a strong outlook for the business and a capital repayment of $9.5 million following Fonterra's consumer business sale.

OPINION: If you ask this old mutt, the choice at the next election isn't shaping up as a contest of…
OPINION: A mate of yours says we're long overdue for a reckoning on what value farmers really get for the…