Fieldays hold out the begging bowl
OPINION: When someone says “we don’t want a handout, we need a hand up” it usually means they have both palms out and they want your money.
OPINION: The Hound reckons the decision by Fieldays to hold the event in summer turned out to be a bit of a fizzer.
Not only were the number of exhibitors down on the amount who were usually there, but so was attendance.
This year’s total crowd size was estimated to be only around 75,000 – compared to the 130,000 or so who normally turn up to Fieldays in June.
In fact, one exhibitor reckoned the crowd was so sparse they could have fired a shotgun down one of the roads and not hit anybody!
However, according to Fieldays CEO Peter Nation, the low number of attendees meant it was all about “quality not quantity”.
One wag told your old mate that Mr Nation appeared to be channelling the hapless lawyer Denis Denuto from the Aussie cult movie ‘The Castle’, claiming it was all about the ‘vibe’ rather than facing the reality!
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.