Country Life
938 episodes - English - Latest episode: 9 days ago -Country Life takes you down country roads to meet ordinary people achieving their dreams.
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Episodes
Relieving the Rural Health Crisis
November 08, 2019 08:07 - 3 minutes - 3.65 MBRural doctors, nurses, and business have met with the health minister this week to press home health issues affecting people living in the country side and smaller towns. Our guest this week is a GP from Kaikoura who's with the Rural Health Alliance of Aotearoa New Zealand.
Country Life for 8 November 2019
November 08, 2019 08:00 - 50 minutes - 46.7 MBRelieving the Rural Health Crisis, Where the Grass is Greener, Meet the Seaweed Man, Farming with the Future in Mind and The Regional Wrap.
A tale of three shepherds
November 01, 2019 08:34 - 18 minutes - 17.5 MBShepherding is more a lifestyle than a job for Kate White, Lesley Pollock and Kacey Johnson. They're among the youngest all women team of shepherds tin the country.
Cute as Buttons
November 01, 2019 08:24 - 12 minutes - 11.7 MBNorth Canterbury farmers Melissa and Hayden Cowan have a small flock of rare black-nosed Swiss Valais sheep. Often referred to as the "cutest sheep in the world" this distinctive breed with black face and ears, curly forelocks and spotted knees and hocks originate in the mountains of the Valais area of Switzerland.
Allocating Water for Dates
November 01, 2019 08:19 - 4 minutes - 4.49 MBPlant and Food Research is working the the Middle East to help an environment agency there know how much water can be safely allocated to date plantations. It's an extension of the work it has been doing in New Zealand, measuring sap flow in various crops and developing models regional councils can use to work out water allocations.
Full Episode for Friday November 1 2019
November 01, 2019 08:03 - 49 minutes - 45.1 MBA Tale of Three Shepherds, Cute as Buttons, Allocating Water for Dates, DIY Soil Testing and the Regional Wrap.
Spectacular Speckles are turning heads
October 25, 2019 08:40 - 20 minutes - 18.5 MBThere's a lot of chatter about Speckle Park cattle. The Canadian breed is the fastest growing cattle breed on the planet. New Zealand farmers are jumping on board. Beef farmers like Speckle Parks because they grow quickly, yield more beef than most other breeds and produce beautifully marbled meat. Dairy farmers love them too; the calves are easy to rear, easy to identify and are worth more than other dairy-cross calves.
Re-homing retired racehorses
October 25, 2019 08:25 - 9 minutes - 9.25 MBJackie Law takes in unwanted pacers and trotters once they have finished their harness racing careers. So far she's rehomed more than 600. Most come from horse trainers who like to see them get a second chance.
More original Kiwi cheese, please
October 25, 2019 08:15 - 13 minutes - 12.4 MBNew Zealand-based international cheese judge Juliet Harbutt would like to see cheese makers here make their own distinct cheeses rather than copy well-known recipes.
Full Episode for Friday October 25 2019
October 25, 2019 08:03 - 50 minutes - 46.8 MBSpectacular Speckles, Rehoming Reject Horses, More Cheese Please and the Regional Wrap.
The Karioi Project: bringing back the grey-faced petrel
October 18, 2019 08:40 - 15 minutes - 14.4 MBA community group has been trapping predators on Mt Karioi near Raglan for ten years. Now the rare grey-faced petrel, whose population was in serious decline, is on the gain.
Nuts about Hazels
October 18, 2019 08:25 - 13 minutes - 12.9 MBCaroline and Mark Eastmond run Hazelnut Nurseries on the hills near Waiau in North Canterbury. Initial planting began in 1993 and now they have about 1,300 established trees producing nuts for the local market.
Kylie Leonard: committed to dairy farming and community
October 18, 2019 08:15 - 11 minutes - 10.7 MBKylie Leonard's cows get to enjoy the scent of her French perfume. After a house fire, the Taupo farmer has vowed to live life to the full and not keep anything for special occasions. Last year Kylie won the Dairy Women's Network's community leadership award. She teaches in Taupo schools, is involved in community organisations and invites anyone who is interested to see what happens on a dairy farm.
Regional Wrap
October 18, 2019 08:05 - 7 minutes - 6.7 MBIn Northland it has been an exceptional week in terms of pasture growth on the back of some good rain. Canterbury has had another variable week of weather with only a couple of good days in which to get on the tractor.
Full Episode for Friday October 18 2019
October 18, 2019 08:03 - 49 minutes - 45.8 MBThe Karioi Project, Nuts about Hazels, Kylie Leonard - Committed to dairy farming and to her community and the Regional Wrap.
Raw courage: the making of Mount Eliza Cheese
October 11, 2019 08:40 - 16 minutes - 15.1 MBFor years Chris and Jill Whalley battled to be able to produce cheese from unpasteurised milk. Now parliamentarians, the people they had to convince, are eating Mount Eliza cheese at Bellamy's.
A View from the Vines: John Douglas vs Jack Frost
October 11, 2019 08:25 - 10 minutes - 9.67 MBLast year, John Douglas lost 70 percent of his vineyard to frost. This season he's out in the nerve-jangling wee hours frost-fighting and watching the temperature drop.
Preparing for the Brown Marmorated Stink Bug
October 11, 2019 08:15 - 10 minutes - 9.62 MBProfessor Max Suckling has been to Italy to see the devastation in crops caused by the brown marmorated stink bug. He's been looking at ways of trapping the bug and other controls that could help protect fruit crops in New Zealand should the bug establish here.
Regional Wrap
October 11, 2019 08:10 - 6 minutes - 6.19 MBWarm wet weather in the North Island will give grass growth a boost and the West Coast of the South Island could do the chance to dry out!
Huge potential for NZ organic produce in China
October 11, 2019 08:05 - 5 minutes - 4.72 MBNew Zealand is testing a new coding system which is expected to boost organic exports to China.
Full Episode for Friday October 11 2019
October 11, 2019 08:04 - 50 minutes - 46.3 MBMount Eliza Cheese, Max Suckling and the BMSB, regional wrap, frost fighting on a Wairarapa vineyard and NZ organic produce in China.
Turning green waste into black gold
October 04, 2019 08:35 - 19 minutes - 18.1 MBEnergy consultant Phil Stevens wanted to reduce his carbon footprint so on his Manawatu lifestyle block he's experimenting taking old logs and tree trimmings and turning them into a special ingredient to sequester carbon and enhance soil and water.
Takiwatanga Sanctuary - a haven for animals and for families
October 04, 2019 08:15 - 18 minutes - 17.2 MBSteve and Phil Brown have set up their King Country home and farm as a sanctuary for children with disabilities and their families. Their rescued animals are on the staff and help entertain and comfort visitors.
A Boost for Vets and the Regions
October 04, 2019 08:05 - 3 minutes - 3.02 MBThirty-two graduate vets will receive $55,000 over five years from the Voluntary Bonding Scheme for Veterinarians to help ease the shortage of veterinarians working with sheep, cows and working dogs.
Regional Wrap
October 04, 2019 08:05 - 7 minutes - 6.54 MBThis week unsettled spring weather included damaging hail in Hawkes Bay, hard frosts in Marlborough and it's been wetter than wet on the West Coast.
Country Life for 4 October 2019
October 04, 2019 08:04 - 50 minutes - 46 MBChildren with autism get to hang out with rescued animals at a King Country sanctuary, a lifestyle block owner experimenting with burning green waste to reduce his carbon footprint and a plan to reduce the shortage of vets.
NZ home for Siberian huskies
September 27, 2019 09:38 - 13 minutes - 12.5 MBWhen Steve Coxhead heads out into the forest with his team of Siberian huskies he never knows what is going to happen. "There's the element of danger I guess and that's what keeps it exciting. We've had wild pigs run out in front of us. We've seen deer. We often have hares leap out in front of us and take off up the track which gives you a pretty thrilling ride." Steve has New Zealand's largest kennels of racing Siberian huskies and is based at Broadlands near Taupo. He chose the locatio...
Japan quake sparks new life in the NZ vines
September 27, 2019 09:27 - 11 minutes - 11 MBAfter the devastating 2011 Japan earthquake Kohei Koyama re-evaluated his life. The former investment banker came to New Zealand to make wine. Nine months ago he took another step, moving to Urlar vineyard near Gladstone in Wairarapa to help its new sake-maker Japanese owners realise their dream.
From Canton to Kerikeri: the varied life of Joe Ngan
September 27, 2019 09:15 - 13 minutes - 12.1 MBJoe Ngan was born in 1932 in a small village near Canton (Guangzhou) China. When he was two, his mother died while giving birth to his sister. That meant Joe and elder brother Sun, were virtual orphans as their father owned a green grocer shop in Fielding New Zealand. He was brought up by his grandfather until the Sino Japanese war started in 1937. They made plans to escape to New Zealand but Grandad Ngan was hit with shrapnel, leaving the two young boys to travel to New Zealand alone. J...
Regional Wrap
September 27, 2019 09:10 - 6 minutes - 5.66 MBBlustery winds, spring chills, a touch of frost and for some a little too much rain. It's been a mixed bag, in other words typical spring weather, around the country this week.
Ploughing to the top
September 27, 2019 09:05 - 4 minutes - 4.55 MBNational ploughing champion Bob Merhtens hails from Timaru. He's recently returned from the 'United States where he's been doing what he loves best...
Full Episode for Friday September 27 2019
September 27, 2019 09:03 - 50 minutes - 46.7 MBFrom Canton to Kerikeri, Japan quake sparks new life in the vines, NZ home for Siberian huskies and the regional wrap.
Snuffling for truffle treasure
September 20, 2019 09:35 - 20 minutes - 19.3 MBCountry Life's Carol Stiles has been out sniffing for truffles. It was no surprise to learn Indi the truffle dog had a better nose! The cocker spaniel whizzed around 146 trees at a truffiere near Hamilton and found a lonely truffle under one of them. Indi and her trainer Karen Drummond are engaged by growers to look for the delicacy on about 60 properties from Whangarei to Wellington.
From Farm to Fridge
September 20, 2019 09:18 - 13 minutes - 12.6 MBA new family-owned boutique milk business is set to bring the clink of glass milk bottles back to Canterbury. James and Chloe Davidson have leased 24 hectares of council land near Darfield and have started producing A2 milk. The cows, a small herd of herd of Shorthorns, are milked on a mobile shed in the paddock. Once it's in the vat the milk is pasteurised and bottled under the couple's Roan Farm brand. Initially it will be delivered to cafés and shops in Darfield, West Melton and Chris...
Regional Wrap
September 20, 2019 09:12 - 6 minutes - 5.88 MBThe West Coast had a good dollop or rain this week but generally there's been fine spring weather around the country which has got grass pulsing and helped lamb survival rates. With buds bursting on trees and vines, growers are on the alert for frost.
Rugby talk with a West Coast farmer
September 20, 2019 09:07 - 4 minutes - 4.31 MBDairy farmer and rugby coach Blair Mirfin chats to Cosmo Kentish-Barnes about club rugby on the Coast and who'll do well in Japan.
Full Episode for Friday September 20 2019
September 20, 2019 09:03 - 49 minutes - 45.4 MBFrom Farm to Fridge, looking for truffles, a rugby playing farmer and the Regional Wrap.