Lame Duck?
OPINION: The media is already playing the 'who will Winston choose?' game every time the polls show Labour and National neck and neck.
OPINION: If old Winston Peters thinks building trade relations with new nations, such as India, isn't a necessary investment in our future, he has rocks in his head.
Our dependence on the US and China with the rapid changes in the world order is fast becoming a liability.
Australia has already discovered what this means in practice.
In October, Canberra signed an $8.5 billion minerals deal and the mining industry celebrated.
The agreement included American guarantees of minimum prices, so that if China flooded the market with cheap supply, Australian mines would still be worth the investment.
In the first week of Feb, those guarantees were quietly withdrawn.
Australia played by the rules, signed a big deal and trusted that the relationship would hold.
It now carries the risk on its own.
Horticulture New Zealand (HortNZ) has released its 2026 election manifesto, outlining priorities to support the sector’s growth, resilience, and contribution to New Zealand’s food security and export revenue.
Farmers have voted to continue the Milksolids Levy that funds DairyNZ.
Fonterra chief executive Miles Hurrell has resigned after eight years in the role.
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.

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