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.
Farmers should be cautiously optimistic as the 2026/27 season kicks off, says DairyNZ.
RaboResearch senior analyst Emma Higgins expects the 2026/27 dairy season to be another profitable one.
The new dairy season is kicking off with plenty of risks to the forecast farmgate price, both upside and downside, says ANZ agricultural economist Matt Dilly.
A potential showdown between the top two Federated Farmers leaders looms at the farmer lobby's annual meeting later this month.
FarmIQ Systems has developed a free land management app to help remove barriers to New Zealand farmers and growers adopting digital tools.
Rural Women New Zealand has announced the winners of the 2026 NZI Rural Women Business Awards.

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