Country Life
Episodes
Off-grid farming family focus on farm-to-fork meat sales
13 Dec 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Sustainability, animal welfare and forging a connection between producer and consumer is at the core of how things are done at Ellis Creek Farm in Gol...
Freestyle to farmstyle, taking one day at a time
13 Dec 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Trent Garton, a former champion freestyle motocross rider, and his wife Tiki have bought the family farm. It's been a difficult road but they take it ...
Overseas investment helping grow Hawke's Bay's horticulture
13 Dec 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Shane Flynn from Craigmore Sustainables shows off a new orchard the investment agency is redeveloping in Hawke's Bay.Go to this episode on rnz.co.nz f...
Rural News Wrap for 13 December 2024
13 Dec 2024
Contributed by Lukas
A round-up of the week's agricultural news. Go to this episode on rnz.co.nz for more details
FULL SHOW: Country Life for 6 December 2024
06 Dec 2024
Contributed by Lukas
There are cheese and eggs on Country Life's menu this week with visits to poultry and goat farms. The team also takes a closer look at what's in the p...
'Defend the shed' - how the poultry industry has been preparing for a bird flu outbreak
06 Dec 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Avian flu has been found on an Otago chicken farm for the first time. It's something the poultry industry has spent months preparing for and we take y...
Milking goats and making cheese all in a day's work
06 Dec 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Thanks to goat's milk, Andrea Gauland son's eczema cleared up within two weeks. It was the excuse she needed to start farming dairy goats 25 years ago...
A future farm toolkit for curbing methane?
06 Dec 2024
Contributed by Lukas
A cow pill, vaccines, and specially treated grass-seed are among products it's hoped will be in farmers' methane-busting toolkits in the not-too-dista...
FULL SHOW: Country Life for 29 November 2024
29 Nov 2024
Contributed by Lukas
This week Country Life's learning about the art of making garden trugs and growing heirloom tomatoes, also the benefits of biochar on a farm growing t...
Turning forestry slash into something good for the planet
29 Nov 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Could biochar be the black gold for integrated forestry and farming operations like Pārengarenga Incorporation in NZ's Far North?Read more here.Go to...
A curious approach to tomato growing by attracting more bugs
29 Nov 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Meet Anthony and Angela Tringham, of Curious Croppers, the couple growing heirloom tomatoes using agroecology principles. Read more and check out some...
Trug-making almost a lost art
29 Nov 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Tony Hitchcock has been crafting trugs - wooden garden baskets - for several years using untreated willow or hazel and poplar sourced locally from aro...
On the Farm for 29 November 2024
29 Nov 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Increasingly dry conditions across much of the North Island has farmers growing nervous about feed heading into summer, while down South the fine weat...
FULL SHOW: Country Life for 22 November 2024
22 Nov 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Country Life gets the low down on greenhouse gases, chats about wallaby control in Bay of Plenty and is with schoolkids helping restore habitat for th...
Schoolkids put buzz back into biodiversity on farm
22 Nov 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Young school students plant habitat for an endangered skink and learn about biodiversity at a nature reserve on a North Canterbury dairy farm. Photos...
Getting the jump on New Zealand's wallabies
22 Nov 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Standing at the wallaby control fence in Rotorua, biosecurity expert Dale Williams gives Country Life an update on efforts to control the pest. Head h...
Rural News Wrap for 22 November 2024
22 Nov 2024
Contributed by Lukas
A round-up of the week's news from New Zealand's primary sector. Go to this episode on rnz.co.nz for more details
The lowdown on greenhouse gases
22 Nov 2024
Contributed by Lukas
RNZ Climate Correspondent Eloise Gibson talks about agriculture's role in the production of greenhouse gases, what people get right and wrong about me...
FULL SHOW: Country Life for 15 November 2024
15 Nov 2024
Contributed by Lukas
This week Country Life chats to a young woman learning the ancient craft of saddlery, meets a dairy farming couple who no longer use imported feed and...
On the hunt for wallaby at "Ground Zero"
15 Nov 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Iwi are trying to reclaim their forest from mobs of wallabies which they say are killing the bush and gobbling up pasture around Rotorua. Country Life...
Healthy cows and worm-rich soil make Motupipi milkers happy
15 Nov 2024
Contributed by Lukas
There's no looking back for a Golden Bay dairy farming couple who eliminated imported feed and synthetic fertilisers from their paddocks.Find photos a...
Young kiwi rides high learning the craft of saddlery
15 Nov 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Young equestrian Sophia Stratford has gone to the other side of the world to learn the craft of saddle, harness and bridle making at prestigious Capel...
Rural News Wrap for 15 November 2024
15 Nov 2024
Contributed by Lukas
A wrap of news from the rural sector for the week ending 15 November 2024Go to this episode on rnz.co.nz for more details
FULL SHOW: Country Life for 8 November 2024
08 Nov 2024
Contributed by Lukas
This week we chat to a veterinarian at Wellington Zoo's animal hospital, Te Kōhanga, we visit a peony farm in full bloom, and we hear from scientist...
All creatures great and small: The zoo hospital helping native wildlife
08 Nov 2024
Contributed by Lukas
We take you inside Wellington Zoo's animal hospital, Te Kōhanga, where they help rehabilitate native birds ready to be released back into the wild.Fo...
Nitrogen: Friend or Foe?
08 Nov 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Scientists look at the details underpinning nitrogen and its use in agriculture, horticulture and its impacts on the environment. For photos and more,...
Business is blooming at family focused peony farm
08 Nov 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Flower picking and packing for export is in full swing at Prebbleton Peonies near Christchurch. For photos and more head hereGo to this episode on rn...
Rural News Wrap for 8 November 2024
08 Nov 2024
Contributed by Lukas
A round-up of the week's agricultural news.Go to this episode on rnz.co.nz for more details
FULL SHOW: Country Life for 1 November 2024
01 Nov 2024
Contributed by Lukas
We chat to a rural vet, visit a farm where horticulture is helping addicts recover and find out about a novel plan to capture greenhouse gases for fee...
Capturing greenhouse gases for farm feed
01 Nov 2024
Contributed by Lukas
In a Rotorua lab scientists are cooking up plans to create stockfeed out of captured greenhouse gases from geothermal power stations. For photos and m...
From the Archive: Growing plants helps addicts' recovery
01 Nov 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Country Life visited Nova Trust's farm near Christchurch where the charity is helping rehabilitate addicts through horticulture. Find story and photos...
Rory Dean - a rural vet inspired to write
01 Nov 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Rory Dean, graduated as a vet from Edinburgh University in 2015, and has already filled a book - Adventures of a Country Vet - full of adventures and ...
On The Farm for 1 November 2024
01 Nov 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Kiwifruit is starting to bloom in Bay of Plenty, dairy farmers up and down the country are busy breeding the next season's calves, while North Canterb...
FULL SHOW: Country Life for 25 October 2024
25 Oct 2024
Contributed by Lukas
We catch up with a dairy farmer embracing regenerative farming, a flower farmer juggling a young family and visit a farm classroom connecting schoolch...
Getting cosy and creative under canvas
25 Oct 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Schoolchildren are learning in a bell tent on a riverside farm in South Wairarapa. They're taking part in a project connecting the community to the ri...
The not so glamorous life of flower farming
25 Oct 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Kate Briant, of The Rural Florist, on how growing flowers helps her juggle a busy young family while keeping her close to her roots in horticulture. F...
Healthy cows and soils put spring in farmers step
25 Oct 2024
Contributed by Lukas
The last time Country Life visited John Legg's Leeston dairy farm, he was adopting regenerative practices across the property. We catch up with him ag...
Rural News Wrap for 25 October 2024
25 Oct 2024
Contributed by Lukas
A round-up of the week's agricultural news.Go to this episode on rnz.co.nz for more details
FULL SHOW: Country Life for 18 October 2024
18 Oct 2024
Contributed by Lukas
We meet a keen gardener in the Far North, hop in the sheepyards to learn about dagging and talk emissions with a sheep and beef farmer in Wairoa. And ...
From the Archive: A day in the life of a rural postie
18 Oct 2024
Contributed by Lukas
In a trip to the archives we join rural delivery man Doug Wilson on his 100-kilometre daily run around the big stations around Taihape, from a feature...
Shifting times for sheep in Wairoa
18 Oct 2024
Contributed by Lukas
A changing climate and shifting land use has prompted Wairoa sheep and beef farmer Dave Read to develop a new breed of low-input sheep.Go to this epis...
Farming 101: What's a dag?
18 Oct 2024
Contributed by Lukas
In this first episode of Farming 101, we check in with sheep grazier Peter Crook to find out about dagging. Go to this episode on rnz.co.nz for more d...
A garden in Moerewa
18 Oct 2024
Contributed by Lukas
If you're heading to the Far North via State Highway 1, you might spy Daphne Andrell busy at work in her garden. Go to this episode on rnz.co.nz for ...
Rural News Wrap for 18 October 2024
18 Oct 2024
Contributed by Lukas
A round-up of the week's agricultural news.Go to this episode on rnz.co.nz for more details
FULL SHOW: Country Life for 11 October 2024
11 Oct 2024
Contributed by Lukas
We join Girls who Grow helping bridge the urban-rural divide for young women and meet two Canterbury hunters supplying local food banks with wild veni...
The next generation of land girls
11 Oct 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Girls who Grow: The new education programme helping empower the next generation of wāhine in agriculture.To learn more about Girls who Grow visit the...
Hunters supply foodbanks with tonnes of wild venison mince
11 Oct 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Hunters for Hope's Steve Hill and Adam Kreisel turn surplus venison from hunters and farmers into high-protein food parcels for low-income families.Mo...
Rural News Wrap for 11 October 2024
11 Oct 2024
Contributed by Lukas
A round-up of the week's agricultural news.Go to this episode on rnz.co.nz for more details
FULL SHOW: Country Life for 4 October 2024
04 Oct 2024
Contributed by Lukas
This week Country Life checks in on Miley the sheepdog in training and joins Katikati College students learning more about a future in horticulture. ...
Dig This - Grow Hub ignites teens' interest in horticulture
04 Oct 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Teens in the heart of kiwifruit country are being trained up for a career in horticulture through the Grow Hub at Katikati College. Find photos and s...
From pup to pro: Miley's diva days
04 Oct 2024
Contributed by Lukas
We check back in with Miley the Huntaway pup and her trainer Chris Shaw to see what progress she's made over the last few months.Find story and photos...
On the Farm for 4 October 2024
04 Oct 2024
Contributed by Lukas
A monthly look at conditions on farms and orchards around the country.Go to this episode on rnz.co.nz for more details
Whale watching while picking winter grown greens
04 Oct 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Ocean views makes harvesting of iceberg lettuce and broccoli a lot more pleasant for Ben Scott and staff at his winter grown vegetables farm in North ...
FULL SHOW: Country Life for 27 September 2024
27 Sep 2024
Contributed by Lukas
This week we're between the rows at 144 Islands vineyard in Northland and on the Hurunui River where off-the-beaten track tourism is helping sustain a...
Off the beaten track tourism sustains two generations of sheep farmers
27 Sep 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Dome glamping, farm tours and jetting up the Hurunui River supplements income and highlights cultural heritage at a traditional sheep and beef farm in...
144 Islands - A Northland vineyard inspired by vines from days gone by
27 Sep 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Old grape vines clambering over a tumbledown shed inspired Jake Dromgool's wine-growing venture 144 Islands. He grows an array of varieties on the vol...
From steering tractors to the helm of Leaderbrand
27 Sep 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Richard Burke, chief of Leaderbrand, one of New Zealand's biggest horticulture groups, is returning the reins to the family which founded the firm 50...
Rural News Wrap for 27 September 2024
27 Sep 2024
Contributed by Lukas
A round-up of the week's agricultural news.Go to this episode on rnz.co.nz for more details
FULL SHOW: Country Life for 20 September 2024
20 Sep 2024
Contributed by Lukas
We meet a mother and daughter growing microgreens and head to a North Canterbury dairy farm using crops to mop up nasties which could end up in waterw...
From selling shoes in China to sprouting microgreens in Te Puke
20 Sep 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Kali sold shoes in China before coming to NZ. She discovered her green fingers just out of Te Puke where she has joined forces with her daughter to gr...
Catch crops help prevent nitrogen from leaching into waterways
20 Sep 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Trials on a North Canterbury dairy farm have found that early sown oats and Italian ryegrass are taking up excess urine deposited by winter grazing co...
Kerry Worsnop on a better approach to policy
20 Sep 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Nuffield scholar and former Gisborne District Councillor Kerry Worsnop on how policymakers can better work with those on the land. You can learn more ...
Rural News Wrap for 20 September 2024
20 Sep 2024
Contributed by Lukas
A round-up of the week's agricultural news. Go to this episode on rnz.co.nz for more details
FULL SHOW: Country Life for 13 September 2024
13 Sep 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Hear from an expert on China's consumer market, meet a former dairy high-flyer now farming a very different sort of protein and learn more about a nic...
A cut above: Couple making 'one of a kind' knives
13 Sep 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Jacinda and Richy Sheridan have carved out a niche for themselves, making hunting and farm knives using deer antlers. …Go to this episode on rnz...
Milk high fliers move into hops and plant proteins
13 Sep 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Meet a farmer who has developed a food supplement based on a protein extracted from green leaves and established North Canterbury's first commercial h...
The inside skinny on China's consumers from Mark Tanner
13 Sep 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Mark Tanner knows what people in China are consuming. He's the founder of China Skinny, a market research company based in Shanghai. …Go to this...
Rural News Wrap for 13 September 2024
13 Sep 2024
Contributed by Lukas
A round-up of the week's agricultural news. Go to this episode on rnz.co.nz for more details
FULL SHOW: Country Life for 6 September 2024
06 Sep 2024
Contributed by Lukas
It's Conservation Week! We meet a North Canterbury farmer rewilding his land and we check back in with the school children helping restore part of a S...
Farmer retires land he says "shouldn't ever have animals on it"
06 Sep 2024
Contributed by Lukas
"I've been farming on my own account for 52 years and cut down a fair share of trees, so now is my time to leave this place better than we found it," ...
"It's lovely planting new trees and making nature"
06 Sep 2024
Contributed by Lukas
In Part 2 of a three part series, schoolchildren head to Waihinga Farm to plant saplings among ancient podocarps on the edge of the Ruamāhanga River....
Adding birds to the farmer's toolbox
06 Sep 2024
Contributed by Lukas
How do you stop birds colliding with New York's skyscrapers and how can New Zealand farmers benefit from birds and other wildlife? These are just some...
Rural News Wrap for 6 September 2024
06 Sep 2024
Contributed by Lukas
A round-up of the week's agricultural news. Go to this episode on rnz.co.nz for more details
FULL SHOW: Country Life for 30 August 2024
30 Aug 2024
Contributed by Lukas
This week the Country Life team heads to a small-scale salt farm in Northland and meets a conservationist collecting endangered wildflowers. Go to th...
A sweet life farming salt - "just a man and his bucket"
30 Aug 2024
Contributed by Lukas
James Moore is up to his knees in the waves at Cable Bay in Northland, a bucket in each hand. He's a small-scale salt farmer, with a plan to help othe...
The Ruatoria 'Noah's ark' for native plants
30 Aug 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Graeme Atkins has collected the "Noah's Ark" of endangered wild cuttings, including the beautiful ngutukākā or kakabeak flower. You can find more ...