Ravensdown’s HawkEye Pro Wins Technology Award at Southern Field Days
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.
OPINION: It used to be that the National Fieldays attracted brickbats for being officious clipboard carriers, while the regional, farmer-run field days enjoyed the bouquets for being easier to deal with.
Your old mate hears things may be changing in the deep south however, with the previously cruisy Southern Field Days attracting a few grumbles.
Maybe as these outfits grow, so do their egos. Or perhaps the coffers are just running low.
How else to explain their new policy of charging exhibitors for extra tickets to attend sites they’ve already paid for; and charging rural media, who publicise the event for free, to attend?
It sounds like a small thing, but it’s a warning bell – a reminder that the now huge and officious Misery Creek was once known as a cruisy, farmer-run event too.
Be a shame for the regionals to follow them down the same road!
Oamaru-based livestock handling specialist Te Pari has bought Combi Clamp, the New Zealand manufacturer of Combi Clamp manual sheep handlers.
Agriculture Minister Todd McClay has admitted that a scheme bringing workers from Pacific nations to work on orchards has become too hard to navigate but says changes are coming.
A new app designed in New Zealand aims to help sheep, beef and deer farmers capture, analyse and use body condition score data more effectively.
Canterbury farmer Andy Macfarlane has been appointed to the board of AgriZeroNZ, the public-private partnership designed to accelerate the development and deployment of emissions reduction tools for New Zealand farmers.
For over 50 years Mel Ewers has been supporting the apple sector navigate through compliance and quality assurance issues.
The apple sector is enjoying a bumper harvest season.

A fair question has been raised about how member-funded organisations should conduct themselves when taking a public position on any…
OPINION: It really is getting harder to lampoon government bureaucrats when they do such a good job of it themselves.…