Ewen Macdonald has had his first bid for parole denied after a hearing this morning.
Macdonald became eligible for parole this month.
He was sentenced to five years' jail for arson, vandalism and killing deer and calves on neighbouring Feilding farms.
His term was imposed in September, after he was found not guilty of murdering his wife's brother Scott Guy by a High Court jury in July.
When he was sentenced, Macdonald had already served more than a year in prison awaiting trial. So, this month he had officially served a third of his sentence and became eligible to go before the board.