Country Life

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...

Farming in the lap of luxury

14 Mar 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Farm manager Bradley Riggs has more than just sheep and cattle to think about. He has high profile guests and celebs staying at the farm's luxury lodg...

'From red tape to red carpet': The new market possibilities in India

14 Mar 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Geoff Allott, a former Black Cap and co-founder of exporting company Quality NZ, has been in the Indian market for 12 years. You can read more here.Go...

Rural News Wrap for 14 March 2025

14 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 7 March 2025

07 Mar 2025

Contributed by Lukas

We take a bite of the apple breeding process and learn what it takes to make the fruit of tomorrow and the team visit a farming commune in Golden Bay ...

How about them apples? The team behind New Zealand's future apples and pears

07 Mar 2025

Contributed by Lukas

We find out what it takes to produce some of New Zealand's tastiest apples by heading inside Plant & Food Research where they help Prevar create new a...

'Back to the land': Commune still going strong after 50 years

07 Mar 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Rainbow Valley is located on regenerating whenua at the end of a gravel road near Tākaka. Several families share the land and help run a small farm f...

Rural News Wrap for 7 March 2025

07 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

Grape picking starts soon at organic Waipara Valley vineyard

07 Mar 2025

Contributed by Lukas

A pre-harvest update from the Greystone Wines, that recently hosted the inaugural Underground soil, food and farming festival. With viticulturalist an...

FULL SHOW: Country Life for 28 February 2025

28 Feb 2025

Contributed by Lukas

We meet a small-scale farmer who has big ideas on how smaller farms can help solve the growing problem of food insecurity in New Zealand and a Southla...

Small but mighty - could small-scale farms be the best way to feed the country?

28 Feb 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Seven-hectares can produce a "magnificent" amount of food. So says small-scale farmer and Kellogg scholar Alison Bentley who's done just that, growing...

Farmer rapt with edible bale netting

28 Feb 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Plastic free paddocks have become a reality thanks to Grant Lightfoot. The Orepuke deer farmer has invented a nonpolluting baleage wrap that animals c...

Shear joy: Wairarapa town hosts annual Golden Shears competition

28 Feb 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Golden Shears President Trish Stevens shares her love of the wool industry and which heats the one to watch at this year's shearing and woolhandling c...

On the Farm for 28 February 2025

28 Feb 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Grapes are being picked in Hawke's Bay and Wairarapa, Taranaki's in drought and the hop harvest is about to start in Tasman.Go to this episode on rnz....

FULL SHOW: Country Life for 21 February 2025

21 Feb 2025

Contributed by Lukas

We meet a farming couple in Southland that are making health products from the hemp they grow, and we get some insights into the Chinese market for Ne...

Farmers turn weed into wellness products

21 Feb 2025

Contributed by Lukas

A hemp crop flourishes beside wheat, barley and peas at Blair and Jody Drysdale's farm in northern Southland. Go to this episode on rnz.co.nz for more...

Sino-vino ties: A wine-lover linking China and New Zealand

21 Feb 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Fang Mei fell in love with wine after working in the banking industry in New Zealand and China. Now she has her own vineyard here and educates people ...

Ag student's dreams come true 15 years on

21 Feb 2025

Contributed by Lukas

We check back in with Hamish Best of Conscious Valley just outside Wellington. A keen ag student the last time he spoke to Country Life, he's now a fi...

Rural News Wrap for 12 February 2025

21 Feb 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 February 2025

14 Feb 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Head inside a Hawke's Bay packhouse and orchard once covered in millions of litres of silt after Cyclone Gabrielle and meet a topdressing pilot who's ...

Green shoots showing for grower two years after Cyclone Gabrielle

14 Feb 2025

Contributed by Lukas

When Cyclone Gabrielle hit two years ago, 4th generation orchardist Cameron Taylor sprang into action rescuing people from rooftops in his Taylor Corp...

'Tractor of the skies' pilot notches up major milestone

14 Feb 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Aerial topdresser John Bargh is preparing for another season up in the air. He's spent nearly five decades in the skies spreading fert on hill country...

Gut fixing seaweed cuts methane emissions from gassy cattle

14 Feb 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Red seaweed grown in Bluff has been shown to significantly reduce methane emissions in beef and dairy cattle with no adverse effects to the animals, t...

Rural News Wrap for 14 February 2025

14 Feb 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 7 February 2025

07 Feb 2025

Contributed by Lukas

We head to a woolshed where hundreds of sheep are being shorn for charity and find out how the Tora Coastal Walk has helped a rugged sheep and beef fa...

Boots on the ground see farm through tough times - Tora Coastal Walk celebrates 30 years

07 Feb 2025

Contributed by Lukas

It's 30 years since the Elworthy family began the Tora Coastal Walk, one of the first multi-day hikes on farmland in NZ. It's been the key to this mar...

Across the board support for shearing fundraiser

07 Feb 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Dozens of shearers slipped on their moccasins for the Shear For Life charity shearing event at Hinds, raising $150,000 for local charitable groups. Go...

Full circle composting on a Tararua dairy farm

07 Feb 2025

Contributed by Lukas

The team at Waka Dairies near Dannevirke is turning waste from milking cows into fertiliser that can be worked back into the farm.Go to this episode o...

Rural News Wrap for 7 February 2025

07 Feb 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 31 January 2025

31 Jan 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Meet farmers Joyce and Jock Wyllie, who first met when she was a locum vet visiting his isolated farm in Golden Bay. We also check back in to see what...

Vet marries farmer and the rest is history

31 Jan 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Joyce and Jock Wyllie first met when she was a locum vet visiting his isolated farm in Golden Bay.Story and photos can be found hereGo to this episode...

From pup to pro: Miley the Huntaway hits her stride at 1-year-old

31 Jan 2025

Contributed by Lukas

We catch up with Miley the young Huntaway and her trainer Chris Shaw as she celebrates her first birthday. You'll be blown away by how much progress s...

Wayne Langford on the farm

31 Jan 2025

Contributed by Lukas

How do New Zealand's farming leaders juggle the farm with the many other hats they may wear in the public arena? We go behind the scenes and catch up ...

On the Farm for 31 January 2025

31 Jan 2025

Contributed by Lukas

A round-up of conditions on farms and orchards around the country.Go to this episode on rnz.co.nz for more details

Summer Series: Country Life for 24 January 2025

24 Jan 2025

Contributed by Lukas

The best of Country Life including a microgreens farm in Te Puke, potato growing in Otago and goat milking near Wellington Go to this episode on rnz.c...

Summer Series: Country Life for 17 January 2025

17 Jan 2025

Contributed by Lukas

The best of Country Life including a programme to help empower the next generation of wāhine in agriculture, a small farming community in Canterbury ...

Summer Series: Country Life for 10 January 2025

10 Jan 2025

Contributed by Lukas

The best of Country Life including Rural Riders in Taranaki, Appleby Farms near Nelson, and a young Huntaway pup named Miley in Wairarapa. Go to this ...

Summer Series: Country Life for 3 January 2025

03 Jan 2025

Contributed by Lukas

The best of Country Life including Mount Taranaki ranger Tāne Houston, a traditional Māori healer is working with shearers all around the motu and a...

Summer Series: Country Life for 27 December 2024

27 Dec 2024

Contributed by Lukas

The best of Country Life including Hugh Wilson of Hinewai Reserve, a visit to Kohirā Solar Farm in Northland and a night out with the Capital Kiwi pr...

FULL SHOW: Country Life for 20 December 2024

20 Dec 2024

Contributed by Lukas

The team brings you stories from the rodeo world, a Christmas tree farm turned maize-maze, and an old rural homestead which has been turned into a lux...

Teens ride high in the world of rodeo

20 Dec 2024

Contributed by Lukas

The rodeo season is underway and Lylah and Riley Wood, two home-schooled teenagers, are in an arena in Waikato practising barrel racing and breakaway ...

Chef couple finds new home on the range

20 Dec 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Wallingford Homestead in Central Hawke's Bay was once a bustling base for the local farming community. These days it's helping bridge the urban-rural ...

The Christmas tree whisperer moves into mazes

20 Dec 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Thousands of perfectly shaped trees are harvested in the lead-up to the festive season at Andrew McAllister's Needle Fresh Christmas tree farm Swannan...

On the Farm for 20 December 2024

20 Dec 2024

Contributed by Lukas

The final round-up of the week's agricultural news for 2024. Go to this episode on rnz.co.nz for more details

FULL SHOW: Country Life for 13 December 2024

13 Dec 2024

Contributed by Lukas

We meet a farming family in Golden Bay who sell farm-to-fork meats, see what foreign investment can do for Hawke's Bay horticulture and meet a motocro...