Country Life

FULL SHOW: Country Life for 1 August 2025

01 Aug 2025

Contributed by Lukas

This week Country Life takes you to a dairy farm with a difference, supplying milk direct to the customer, and the team checks in at a lab where work ...

Calving a niche - Faith Farm Fresh keeps milk flowing direct to customers

01 Aug 2025

Contributed by Lukas

It's a busy time of year for Stacey Faith, calving 300-plus cows, rearing their calves and keeping the Faith Farm's roadside milk dispensing outlet go...

Harnessing plant power to combat vineyard threats

01 Aug 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Are some grapevines better that others at naturally defending themselves from a disease-spreading pest? Michelle Thompson is running trials at Plant &...

One year, one hospital, one community

01 Aug 2025

Contributed by Lukas

With rural health care under the spotlight, our guest this week sheds some light on working in a small country hospital. Sophia Zohrab is among 12 med...

On the Farm for 1 August 2025

01 Aug 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Country Life speaks to farmers and growers around New Zealand to find out about growing conditions over the past month. You can find photos and read ...

FULL SHOW: Country Life for 25 July 2025

25 Jul 2025

Contributed by Lukas

This week Country Life takes you to a farm grazing pigs and cattle beneath solar panels and meets organic honey producers Shayne and Elizabeth Mackenz...

'Learning along the way' with agrivoltaics

25 Jul 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Dual land use, with pigs and cattle grazing under solar panels, has unlocked new opportunities for Waitangi Farm in Waiuku. Mostly importantly say Nig...

Sweet success for Coromandel couple's organic honey

25 Jul 2025

Contributed by Lukas

A honey shed on a hill is buzzing with the sound of honey flowing into jars as the bees take a hard-earned rest from honey making. Country Life meets ...

Connecting people 'from the land' with those working on the land

25 Jul 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Time spent helping his grandparents on their whenua near Kāwhia inspired a love of farming for Harris Moana. Having just finished his Agribusiness st...

Rural News Wrap for 25 July 2025

25 Jul 2025

Contributed by Lukas

A round-up of the week's news from the primary sector. Go to this episode on rnz.co.nz for more details

FULL SHOW: Country Life for 18 July 2025

18 Jul 2025

Contributed by Lukas

This week producer Cosmo Kentish-Barnes is in his wet weather gear in the Tasman district meeting farmers and other rural residents, still battered an...

Double Blow: Tasman's rural resilience tested by back-to-back storms

18 Jul 2025

Contributed by Lukas

As a second weather bomb lashed the Tasman region, Cosmo Kentish-Barnes was on the ground with farmers and rural people, still battered and bruised fr...

Rural News Wrap for 18 July 2025

18 Jul 2025

Contributed by Lukas

A wrap of the week's news from RNZ's rural news desk Go to this episode on rnz.co.nz for more details

FULL SHOW: Country Life for 11 July 2025

11 Jul 2025

Contributed by Lukas

This week Country Life follows the trail of food scraps from the table to farms with the City to Farm project north of Auckland, meets two young farmi...

City to Farm: How leftovers are giving back to the land

11 Jul 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Food scraps from retirement villages and schools are helping to nourish a banana orchard and other farms via the City to Farm project, which aims to k...

From the Archive: Working Dogs go under the Hammer

11 Jul 2025

Contributed by Lukas

A dip into the archives when Cosmo Kentish-Barnes attended the 64th annual Ashburton cattle and sheep dog sale to find out what these hard-working dog...

North Canterbury teens crowned farming champs

11 Jul 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Rangiora High School students John Lundy and Harry Parish were awarded one of New Zealand's top primary sector accolades at last weekend's FMG Junior ...

Rural News Wrap for 11 July 2025

11 Jul 2025

Contributed by Lukas

A wrap of news from the rural news deskGo to this episode on rnz.co.nz for more details

FULL SHOW: Country Life for 4 July 2025

04 Jul 2025

Contributed by Lukas

This week Country Life returns to a vegetable farm to see whether it's radical plan to feed the community is working and looks at plans for plastic wa...

Snorts, snuggles and second chances at animal sanctuary

04 Jul 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Sharlene Wilson has turned her rural property in North Canterbury into a haven for rescued farm animals who find healing, freedom and a place to truly...

Crooked Vege's pay-what-you-can model feeding families two years on

04 Jul 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Crooked Vege's pay-what-you-can model for its vege boxes may have been a radical idea two years ago but it's plan seems to be working. The small farm ...

Agrecovery: Rural recycling on the rise

04 Jul 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Agrecovery's seen huge growth in the 20 years it's been operating, with those in the primary sector looking for new ways to recycle on-farm plastic. "...

On the Farm for 4 July 2025

04 Jul 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Country Life speaks to farmers and growers around New Zealand to find out about growing conditions over the past month. You can find photos and read ...

FULL SHOW: Country Life for 27 June 2025

27 Jun 2025

Contributed by Lukas

This week Country Life dives underground to take a closer look at soils, from Canterbury farmers using the Japanese Bokashi system to a market gardene...

Roebuck Farm: Where the garden beds are rich 'like chocolate cake'

27 Jun 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Over the past 20 years, Jodi Roebuck and his wife Tanya have turned a bare paddock into a thriving market garden with an emphasis on microgreens, teac...

Bokashi by the Tonne: Farmers turns waste into natural fertiliser

27 Jun 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Bokashi, the Japanese anaerobic composting system which ferments organic matter, is helping to maintain healthy soils on a sheep and dairy grazing far...

Rural News Wrap for 27 June 2025

27 Jun 2025

Contributed by Lukas

A round-up of the week's news from the primary sector.Go to this episode on rnz.co.nz for more details

Dollars for nature - a look at biodiversity credits

26 Jun 2025

Contributed by Lukas

News that the government is looking to support a market system to help fund the huge cost of restoring nature could be music to the ears of farmers an...

FULL SHOW: Country Life for 20 June 2025

20 Jun 2025

Contributed by Lukas

This week Country Life celebrates Matariki with stories about Māori horticultural wisdom and a couple setting up star gazing experiences on their far...

Stars, soil and whakapapa - 'We're just caretakers really'

20 Jun 2025

Contributed by Lukas

This Matariki, the stars align for Mark and Susannah Guscott - award winners bringing whakapapa and astronomy together on their sixth-generation Waira...

'We can grow anything here': A family's growing experiment

20 Jun 2025

Contributed by Lukas

The McClutchie whānau explores growing different crops, with aspirations to grow Māori medicinal plants, on their family whenua in North Taranaki.Yo...

Nick Roskruge - digging into indigenous knowledge

20 Jun 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Nick Rahiri Roskruge is Country Life's guest this week. His work in agriculture and soil science have taken him far afield looking at crops sustaining...

Rural News Wrap for 20 June 2025

20 Jun 2025

Contributed by Lukas

A round-up of the week's news from the primary sector.Go to this episode on rnz.co.nz for more details

FULL SHOW: Country Life for 13 June 2025

13 Jun 2025

Contributed by Lukas

This week Country Life is out and about at Fieldays, meets a boy with a side hustle farming quail eggs, and chats around the kitchen table with the Ha...

From generation to generation - a century at Daisybank

13 Jun 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Strong family support, innovation and a dash of good luck have seen the Harvey family of Wairarapa clock up a hundred years on Daisybank Farm near Mar...

The Quail Kid - cracking the egg market aged 12

13 Jun 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Hamish Sturgeon is on his first farming venture rearing quails for their eggs. They're healthy, delicious and it's a fun side-hustle keeping the cute ...

Rural Women New Zealand at 100

13 Jun 2025

Contributed by Lukas

As Rural Women New Zealand marks its centennial year, it hopes a $250,000 boost in government funding can help fuel its mission to connect, support, a...

Rural News Wrap for 13 June 2025

13 Jun 2025

Contributed by Lukas

A round-up of the week's news from the primary sector. Go to this episode on rnz.co.nz for more details

FULL SHOW: Country Life for 6 June 2025

06 Jun 2025

Contributed by Lukas

This week Country Life delves into the world of protein, finds out how a small community raises money for a rescue service through its hunting competi...

The small town hunting competition that's helping save lives

06 Jun 2025

Contributed by Lukas

The annual Pongaroar hunting competition is remote Tarara District helps hunters and farmers tackle growing pest numbers, while getting together and r...

Berry grower Bob Teal - finding a niche and bearing fruit

06 Jun 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Bob Teale's resourcefulness has allowed him to keep growing a niche range of berries into his 80s at Bruntwood Orchard near Cambridge. He uses upcycle...

The power of protein

06 Jun 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Distinguished professor Paul Moughan from the Riddet Institute breaks down what protein is, why we need it and all the things you need to know when co...

Rural News Wrap for 6 June 2025

06 Jun 2025

Contributed by Lukas

A round-up of the week's news from the primary sector.You can find more from the rural news team hereGo to this episode on rnz.co.nz for more details

FULL SHOW: Country Life for 30 May 2025

30 May 2025

Contributed by Lukas

This week Country Life moves with the cows on that traditional day of the farming calendar - Mooving Day. The team's also in northern Coromandel where...

From the Archives: My old man said follow the cows

30 May 2025

Contributed by Lukas

June 1 is an important day in the farming calendar when dairy farmers relocate animals, typically from one farm to another, for the start of the new s...

Colville people ensure the mail gets through

30 May 2025

Contributed by Lukas

An hour's drive from the northern tip of Coromandel, you'll find a tiny post office run by volunteers. As rural postal services shrink, the small comm...

Venture Taranaki 'Branching Out' across the region

30 May 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Michelle Bauer from Venture Taranaki's Branching Out programme shares exciting new opportunities for Taranaki landowners to diversify their farming an...

On the Farm for 30 May 2025

30 May 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Country Life speaks to farmers and growers around NZ to find out about growing conditions over the past month.Go to this episode on rnz.co.nz for more...

FULL SHOW: Country Life for 23 May 2025

23 May 2025

Contributed by Lukas

This week Country Life visits a Taranaki conservationist on the family farm, learns more about a Canterbury family making cosy coffins from their farm...

Demand for caskets made from sheeps wool on the rise

23 May 2025

Contributed by Lukas

As well as selling top quality wool to buyers around the world, Polly and Ross McGuckin's Yaldhurst Wools business also provides funeral homes with bi...

100 years of rural broadcasting

23 May 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Informing, entertaining and connecting isolated farmers was a prime goal of the Radio Broadcasting Company, officially incorporated in August 1925 and...

Farming 101: The difference between a heading dog and a Huntaway

23 May 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Wairarapa dog triallist Chris Shaw breaks down the difference between heading dogs and Huntaway, like young pup Miley, and what they each do on farm.Y...

Rural News Wrap for 23 May 2025

23 May 2025

Contributed by Lukas

A round-up of the week's news from the primary sector. Go to this episode on rnz.co.nz for more details

Preserving native bush and local history on the 'perfect farm'

23 May 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Former South-Taranaki mayor Ross Dunlop has led the way with conservation efforts on his family farm.You can find photos and read more about this epis...

FULL SHOW: Country Life for 16 May 2025

16 May 2025

Contributed by Lukas

This week Country Life heads to the saleyards in Canterbury, meets a Taranaki woman weaving locally-grown wool into blankets and finds out what it's l...

A day in the life of a rural midwife

16 May 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Rural midwife Sheryl Wright drives a winding dangerous road and even fords rivers to get to pregnant and new mothers in northwest Coromandel. You can ...

Where there's wool there's a way

16 May 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Taranaki weaver Alison Ross is trying to bring back woollen-blankets made from locally-grown wool to highlight the fibre's benefits. You can find phot...

Lambs are flying out of the pens at the Canterbury Saleyards

16 May 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Many Waitaha farmers are moving away from the traditional system of running ewes and finishing their own lambs. Now they're in the market to buy in an...

Rural News Wrap for 16 May 2025

16 May 2025

Contributed by Lukas

A round-up of the week's news from the primary sector.Go to this episode on rnz.co.nz for more details

FULL SHOW: Country Life for 9 May 2025

09 May 2025

Contributed by Lukas

There are two sorts of harvest on Country Life this week - muttonbirds on the tītī islands and walnuts at one of Canterbury's biggest walnut orchar...

Harvesting time is nuts at busy walnut orchard

09 May 2025

Contributed by Lukas

The tree shaker and nut gatherer are cracking through Clive Marsh and Heather North's picturesque nuttery near Lincoln. By harvest's end, over 30 tonn...

Devcich farm shines a light on Dalmatian pioneers

09 May 2025

Contributed by Lukas

The story of a pioneering family of Dalmatian immigrants is kept alive through a cluster of rustic sheds on an historic farm near Thames.You can find ...

Muttonbirding - 'It's a part of who we are'

09 May 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Dan Tarrant's ancestors have been harvesting muttonbirds or tītī for 500 years. The autumn harvest is a family affair and a chance to pass down skil...

Rural News Wrap for 9 May 2025

09 May 2025

Contributed by Lukas

A round-up of the week's news from the primary sector. Go to this episode on rnz.co.nz for more details

FULL SHOW: Country Life for 2 May 2025

02 May 2025

Contributed by Lukas

This week Country Life is at a pumpkin farm in Whanganui, finding out about seed growing and meets a photographer from South Auckland who's spending t...

Life is gourd for pumpkin seed growers at Summer Hill Seeds

02 May 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Whanganui farming couple Clare and Grant Adkins are growing plant protein alongside their animals proteins. You can find photos and read more about th...

South Auckland artist absorbs farm life on high country station in Southern Alps

02 May 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Raymond Sagapolutele was not sure what to expect when he arrived at Castle Hill Station for a Creative NZ residency. The photographer hadn't spent tim...

Farming 101: Grapevine pruning

02 May 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Winter's coming up and that means pruning time in the vineyard. How do you prune a grapevine and why? You can learn more about 144 Islands, here.With ...

On the Farm for 2 May 2025

02 May 2025

Contributed by Lukas

A round-up of conditions on farms and orchards around the country.You can find photos from around the country on our webpage, here.Go to this episode ...

FULL SHOW: Country Life for 25 April 2025

25 Apr 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Country Life meets Hawke's bay stud owner Tony Thompson who's been breeding cattle for half a century. The team also find out about an organic vege gr...

Simmental cattle breeder Tony Thompson's life of legacy

25 Apr 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Collecting fine china is one of the passions of long-time Simmental cattle breeder Tony Thompson, bringing new meaning to the saying "like a bull in a...

Heights Farms built on family

25 Apr 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Tucked under the Tararua Range, fifth generation sheep and beef farmers, the Robinsons, have added a diverse range of income streams to the family far...

Organic vege farm mushrooms under green fingered growers

25 Apr 2025

Contributed by Lukas

They started growing vegetables in paddock for lockdown vege boxes. Five years on, Penny Platt, her brother Ollie and Issac Green grow over 40 crops o...

Rural News Wrap for 25 April 2025

25 Apr 2025

Contributed by Lukas

A round-up of the week's news from the primary sector.Go to this episode on rnz.co.nz for more details

FULL SHOW: Country Life for 18 April 2025

18 Apr 2025

Contributed by Lukas

This week on Country Life we check out an artificially constructed lake on Braemore Farm that's built for water storage and fun we’re out with Anna ...

Farming with a toddler in tow

18 Apr 2025

Contributed by Lukas

20-month-old Charlie Munro already knows some dog calls and how to open gates. His mum, Anna, also grew up at Cravendale, a hill country farm near Mou...

Wairarapa farmer 'proud' of DIY lake

18 Apr 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Len French wanted a lake to help with water security on his eastern Wairarapa farm. What he's built, Lake Braemore, is now a community asset that can ...

Rural News Wrap for 18 April 2025

18 Apr 2025

Contributed by Lukas

A round-up of the week's news from the primary sector. Go to this episode on rnz.co.nz for more details

A garden to munch on

18 Apr 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Landscape designer and market gardener Cath Goodrick enjoys showing how people to incorporate kai into their gardens.You can hear more about Kai Rotor...

FULL SHOW: Country Life for 11 April 2025

11 Apr 2025

Contributed by Lukas

This week on Country Life the team take a walk on the wild side with a herd of water buffalo in Clevedon, check out a botanical growing trial in Taran...

Clevedon - where the water buffalo roam

11 Apr 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Clevedon couple Richard and Helen Dorresteyn were the first to farm water buffalo in New Zealand. These giant, burly beasts produce the softest award-...

Weathering the 'worst drought in 50 years' as an organic dairy farmer

11 Apr 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Organic dairy farmer Janet Fleming is in her eighth season of once a day milking, something she credits with helping get her through Taranaki's recent...

Eco-sourced plants are flying out the gate at a Rūnaka-owned nursery

11 Apr 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Phil Moeke is the manager of Te Kōhaka o Tāne, a commercial nursery in Invercargill that has grown over 800,000 native trees and plants since it ope...

Rural News Wrap for 11 April 2025

11 Apr 2025

Contributed by Lukas

A round-up of the week's news from the primary sector Go to this episode on rnz.co.nz for more details

FULL SHOW: Country Life for 4 April 2025

04 Apr 2025

Contributed by Lukas

This week on Country Life the team catch up with a Wairarapa farming family that's added sheep dairy to their farming operation, and every day is a ho...

'Milk from an almond, then why not a sheep': Fernglen Farm's sheep dairy addition

04 Apr 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Fernglen Farm is a family affair helping people learn more about the benefits of sheep milk, while finding new ways to balance the hardships of farmin...

Southland retiree takes injured night birds under her wing

04 Apr 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Gloria Harris has been running a ruhu nohinohi little owl and ruru morepork rescue service for 30 years. "I've probably cared for close to 300 birds,"...

SheepMaster: Hawke's Bay farm's foray into shedding sheep

04 Apr 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Dean Martin has carried on the legacy set by his dad and is not afraid to try new things - from shedding sheep to regenerative agriculture practices.Y...

On the Farm for 4 April 2025

04 Apr 2025

Contributed by Lukas

A round-up of conditions on farms and orchards around the country.You can read more on our webpage, here.Go to this episode on rnz.co.nz for more deta...

FULL SHOW: Country Life for 28 March 2025

28 Mar 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Country Life this week digs deep into the world of kūmara and finds out about farm training for young people with disabilities.Go to this episode on ...

On-farm learning a success - "I've been enjoying it. I like being with the cows and being in the shed"

28 Mar 2025

Contributed by Lukas

A training initiative in Southland is giving young adults with high-functioning disabilities the skills required to work on a dairy farm. Go to this ...

The Kūmara Connection

28 Mar 2025

Contributed by Lukas

It's nearly time for the kūmara harvest at Kai Rotorua and this year there's something new to weave into the legends, poetry and traditional knowledg...

Rural News Wrap for 28 March 2025

28 Mar 2025

Contributed by Lukas

A look at what's been making headlines on the rural news desk this week.Go to this episode on rnz.co.nz for more details

FULL SHOW: Country Life for 21 March 2025

21 Mar 2025

Contributed by Lukas

This week the Country Life team catch up with some sheep farmers busy with docking and crutching on the land, and then a taste of the sea, as they sam...

Highlands Station - a farm shaped by an eruption

21 Mar 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Farming in the wake of the Mt Tarawera eruption has tested the Ford family for nearly a century. But dam-building and a lighter footprint on the land ...

Deep dive: See the potential that is seaweed

21 Mar 2025

Contributed by Lukas

As part of Aotearoa's first seaweed festival, Pacific Harvest hosted a seaweed tasting event where people could sample various red, green and brown dr...

Sheep to chic with cosy crossbred wool

21 Mar 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Sometimes it takes an outsider to come in and give a dyed-in-the-wool farmer a wee nudge. This is where Southland entrepreneur Laura Todd comes in. Yo...

Rural News Wrap for 21 March 2025

21 Mar 2025

Contributed by Lukas

A round-up of the week's news from the primary sector.Go to this episode on rnz.co.nz for more details

FULL SHOW: Country Life for 14 March 2025

14 Mar 2025

Contributed by Lukas

This week on Country Life the team head to a luxury lodge where farming is all part of the experience, and Tuatapere's domain is transformed into a se...

Southland show at 'the hole in the bush' still going strong after 85 years

14 Mar 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Tuatapere's picturesque domain is transformed into a sensory celebration of rural life during the annual Waiau A&P Show. You can read more and find ph...