How to prepare safely for the Roar in 2026
The Roar is a highlight of the game hunting calendar in New Zealand, with thousands of hunters set to head for the hills to hunt male stags during March and April.
OPINION: Good news for hunters as Forest & Bird have "paused" legal action against the Fiordland Wapiti Foundation and agreed conservation work can continue without the extermination of wapiti.
The legal action was an own goal in the first place.
For 13 years, DOC worked with the Foundation, letting hunters pay for ballot access to hunt this prized species, providing population management of an introduced species for free.
So could this signal a change in attitude from the normally litigious F&B?
We can only hope, but the Hound isn't holding his breath.
F&B have taken legal action against government numerous times: opposing amendments to consenting pathways for wetlands; suing over fisheries catch limits; blocking mining initiatives.
Let's hope the sensible decision over Wapiti will hold and F&B will keep their well-paid lawyers on a leash for once.
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.

OPINION: Election years are usually regarded as the silly season, but a mate of the Hound reckons 2026 is shaping…
OPINION: If farmers poured just a few litres of some pollutant into a stream, the Green Party and the wider…