CoveragePost
February 20, 2026
Source: Radio New Zealand Anisha Satya for Country Life Underground Festival organiser Fran Bailey said the festival was about celebrating good produce, and the people behind it. RNZ/Anisha Satya Follow Country Life on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, iHeart or wherever you get your podcasts. It’s what’s underneath that matters at the Underground Festival. The soil, how ... <a title="Country Life: Into the weeds and under the soil at the Underground Festival" class="read-more" href="https://eveningreport.nz/2026/02/20/country-life-into-the-weeds-and-under-the-soil-at-the-underground-festival/" aria-label="Read more about Country Life: Into the weeds and under the soil at the Underground Festival">Read more</a>
CoveragePost
February 20, 2026
Source: Radio New Zealand Farmer Finn Cook is thinking of quitting sheep farming if the killing can’t be stopped. RNZ/Sally Round Warning: The following story contains an image that may disturb some viewers. A Northland farmer says more than 250 of his family’s sheep have been killed by roaming dogs, and he’s thinking of quitting ... <a title="Northland farmer has hundreds of sheep killed by roaming dogs" class="read-more" href="https://eveningreport.nz/2026/02/20/northland-farmer-has-hundreds-of-sheep-killed-by-roaming-dogs/" aria-label="Read more about Northland farmer has hundreds of sheep killed by roaming dogs">Read more</a>
CoveragePost
February 19, 2026
Source: Radio New Zealand More than 98 percent of the co-op’s 8000 shareholders voted in favour of the capital return scheme resulting from the divestment of Mainland Group. 123rf / Supplied images The multi-billion-dollar sale of dairy co-operative Fonterra’s consumer brands business is one step closer, as shareholders overwhelmingly approve another regulatory hurdle to the ... <a title="Majority of Fonterra shareholders vote in favour of Mainland payout scheme" class="read-more" href="https://eveningreport.nz/2026/02/19/majority-of-fonterra-shareholders-vote-in-favour-of-mainland-payout-scheme/" aria-label="Read more about Majority of Fonterra shareholders vote in favour of Mainland payout scheme">Read more</a>
CoveragePost
February 18, 2026
Source: Radio New Zealand 123RF Rural contractors say new road rules for agricultural machinery are nowhere to be seen, and in the meantime contractors are still being stung with fines. To operate tractors or heavy machinery like harvesters on roads, drivers must get a permit. But the rules are “outdated” and not keeping up with ... <a title="Contractors want the government to hurry up with new road rules for agricultural machinery" class="read-more" href="https://eveningreport.nz/2026/02/18/contractors-want-the-government-to-hurry-up-with-new-road-rules-for-agricultural-machinery/" aria-label="Read more about Contractors want the government to hurry up with new road rules for agricultural machinery">Read more</a>
CoveragePost
February 18, 2026
Source: Radio New Zealand 123RF Livestock farmers are being urged to keep their animals well fed and circulated to avoid the spread of moisture-loving parasites. Downpours and gusts that lashed the country in recent weeks have left farmers grappling with paddocks turned to lakes, keeping stock fed and dry, and navigating cut-off tracks, roads and ... <a title="How to avoid moisture-loving parasites in livestock, following storms" class="read-more" href="https://eveningreport.nz/2026/02/18/how-to-avoid-moisture-loving-parasites-in-livestock-following-storms/" aria-label="Read more about How to avoid moisture-loving parasites in livestock, following storms">Read more</a>
CoveragePost
February 17, 2026
Source: Radio New Zealand 123RF Rural contractors say new road rules for agricultural machinery are nowhere to be seen, and in the meantime contractors are still being stung with fines. To operate tractors or heavy machinery like harvesters on roads, drivers must get a permit. But the rules are “outdated” and not keeping up with ... <a title="Farmers want the government to hurry up with new road rules for agricultural machinery" class="read-more" href="https://eveningreport.nz/2026/02/17/farmers-want-the-government-to-hurry-up-with-new-road-rules-for-agricultural-machinery/" aria-label="Read more about Farmers want the government to hurry up with new road rules for agricultural machinery">Read more</a>
CoveragePost
February 17, 2026
Source: Radio New Zealand Twisted steel and roofless berry tunnels following the storms. SUPPLIED/CAM LEWIS Storms across the North Island have destroyed a Horowhenua grower’s large berry tunnels, but power to the milking shed has since returned. Severe weather over the weekend thrust five North Island districts into states of emergency; Manawatū, Rangitīkei, Tararua, Waipā ... <a title="Storms destroy Horowhenua grower’s long berry tunnels" class="read-more" href="https://eveningreport.nz/2026/02/17/storms-destroy-horowhenua-growers-long-berry-tunnels/" aria-label="Read more about Storms destroy Horowhenua grower’s long berry tunnels">Read more</a>
CoveragePost
February 14, 2026
Source: Radio New Zealand Pāmu apprentice Archie Davidson and Te Wharua farm manager Alan Micky MacDonald RNZ/Sally Round Apprentice farmer Archie Davidson is learning a thing or two from his dogs. “That heading dog, he knows everything. “You send him one way; he goes the other way. “He’s like, uh-uh, and I’m like, ‘Oh, should ... <a title="Country Life: Growing a farmer on Pāmu’s apprentice scheme" class="read-more" href="https://eveningreport.nz/2026/02/14/country-life-growing-a-farmer-on-pamus-apprentice-scheme/" aria-label="Read more about Country Life: Growing a farmer on Pāmu’s apprentice scheme">Read more</a>
CoveragePost
February 14, 2026
Source: Radio New Zealand Clyde Orchards has been owned and operated by the Paulin family since 1921. Gianina Schwanecke / Country Life In the weeks before Chinese New Year, Clyde Orchard’s packhouse is a hive of activity as rich, red cherries freshly picked from surrounding Central Otago orchards are brought in to be washed, packed ... <a title="Country Life: Behind the scenes of Central Otago’s cherry harvest" class="read-more" href="https://eveningreport.nz/2026/02/14/country-life-behind-the-scenes-of-central-otagos-cherry-harvest/" aria-label="Read more about Country Life: Behind the scenes of Central Otago’s cherry harvest">Read more</a>
CoveragePost
February 12, 2026
Source: Radio New Zealand RNZ / Nate McKinnon Regenerative sheep farmers could muster an above-market pay cheque for their sustainable wool clip, thanks to a new industry deal. Wools of New Zealand signed a new contract to supply American-owned company Keraplast, based in Ōtautahi, with hundreds of tonnes of strong wool over the next five ... <a title="New deal paying above market price for regenerative sheep farmers’ wool" class="read-more" href="https://eveningreport.nz/2026/02/12/new-deal-paying-above-market-price-for-regenerative-sheep-farmers-wool/" aria-label="Read more about New deal paying above market price for regenerative sheep farmers’ wool">Read more</a>
CoveragePost
February 10, 2026
Source: Radio New Zealand File image. Nick Monro The forestry sector is calling for a cap on rates increases after one forestry blocks rates bill went up 570 percent in a year. The 1100-hectare block near Wairoa managed by agri-advisory firm Lewis Tucker was originally farmland but was bought in 2019 and planted in pines ... <a title="Forestry sector calls for rates cap after bill increases 570 percent" class="read-more" href="https://eveningreport.nz/2026/02/10/forestry-sector-calls-for-rates-cap-after-bill-increases-570-percent/" aria-label="Read more about Forestry sector calls for rates cap after bill increases 570 percent">Read more</a>
CoveragePost
February 10, 2026
Source: Radio New Zealand NZ Rhapzody. Supplied / Bioeconomy Science Institute Along the banks of the Wangapeka River in Tasman, a new hop variety named after the grower’s love of beer and music is being commercially released after more than a decade of research and development. The Bioeconomy Science Institute and the country’s biggest hop ... <a title="NZ Rhapzody, the new hop off the trial block" class="read-more" href="https://eveningreport.nz/2026/02/10/nz-rhapzody-the-new-hop-off-the-trial-block/" aria-label="Read more about NZ Rhapzody, the new hop off the trial block">Read more</a>
