Country Life
938 episodes - English - Latest episode: 8 days ago -Country Life takes you down country roads to meet ordinary people achieving their dreams.
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Episodes
Composting barn better for cows and land, says Karamea farmer
June 02, 2023 07:23 - 12 minutes - 23.6 MBFrano Volkman's cows will soon be snuggling up on a thick bed of woodchips and sawdust in their new 6,300m2 composting barn. The organic fertiliser formed underneath Volkman's herd will be spread onto the paddocks of his Little Wanganui dairy farm.
Country Life for 2 June 2023
June 02, 2023 07:07 - 50 minutes - 91.6 MBGrowing and brewing yuzu, a composting barn and Tom the Young Farmer, plus a round up of farming conditions around Aotearoa.
Dairy farmer bridges cultural gap beside braided awa
May 27, 2023 01:32 - 22 minutes - 41.8 MBWith the help of a cultural land advisor, North Canterbury farmer John Faulkner is creating a diverse mahinga kai - Māori food gathering site - on his riverside property.
From Cockpit to Countryside: pilot cultivates aromatic acre
May 26, 2023 07:20 - 13 minutes - 24.3 MBWith a spare acre or two wrapping around the house, Damian Paine's turned his paddock into purple. Acre Lavender Farm
Tractors wanted to help farmers in Tonga
May 26, 2023 07:16 - 5 minutes - 9.89 MBIf you've got an old Massey Ferguson tractor sitting in your paddock, the Pasifika Safe Shelter Trust would like to hear from you. Farmers in Tonga could do with them because ash from the huge volcanic eruption just over a year ago still needs tilling into the soil.
Country Life for 26 May 2023
May 26, 2023 07:07 - 51 minutes - 93.5 MBAeroplane pilot finds balance with lavender, Culverden dairy farm bridges cultural gap and tractors for Tonga plus the wrap of agricultural news
Rural News Wrap
May 26, 2023 07:07 - 8 minutes - 15 MBRNZ's rural news reporter, Sally Murphy, takes a look at the week's agricultural news.
Dairying with deer
May 20, 2023 05:32 - 20 minutes - 18.8 MBHinds at Pāmu's Aratiatia deer milking unit are finishing up providing rich creamy milk for the season. Country Life is there at milking time to see how it's done.
Rural counselling fund drops as demand peaks
May 19, 2023 07:20 - 7 minutes - 7.06 MBThe Rural Change Fund saw demand increase from 5 applications a week to 25. Now, when rural people need it most, the wellbeing programme has been put on pause.
'Get your hands dirty!' says soil advocate and farmer
May 19, 2023 07:16 - 10 minutes - 9.45 MBAustralian food writer-turned-food activist Matthew Evans was in North Canterbury last weekend talking to local growers about what keeps the earth, and us, healthy.
Rural News Wrap
May 19, 2023 07:07 - 10 minutes - 9.75 MBRNZ's rural news reporter, Leah Tebbutt, takes a look at the week's agricultural news.
Country Life for 19 May 2023
May 19, 2023 07:06 - 51 minutes - 46.7 MBCountry life this week spends the morning in a milking parlour with a difference. All the stalls are highsided, tailored for the deer which are providing rich creamy milk. Also Australian chef and farmer Matthew Evans shares his enthusiasm for soil.
Community concerned about wellbeing of Waiau River
May 12, 2023 07:32 - 19 minutes - 17.7 MBA dispute between the Waiau Rivercare Group in Southland and Meridian Energy over the health and flow levels in the Waiau River has been at a low ebb, but both parties are keen to bridge the gap.
Adrian Worsley: The man behind the metal
May 12, 2023 07:20 - 13 minutes - 12.1 MBAdrian Worsley designs and constructs unique one-off sculptures from recycling scrap metal, tools and farm implements.
Arthur Anae - from politics to farming chooks
May 12, 2023 07:16 - 8 minutes - 7.36 MBArthur Anae sleeps four hours a night and wakes in plenty of time to get his free range eggs to market in person. The former politician never thought as a young boy from Samoa he would end up with two big farms and he wants other kids to know where their food comes from too.
Rural News Wrap
May 12, 2023 07:07 - 8 minutes - 7.41 MBRNZ's rural news reporter, Sally Murphy, takes a look at the week's agricultural news.
Country Life Friday May 12 2023
May 12, 2023 07:00 - 50 minutes - 46.5 MBThe banks are closing in over a troubled river, from scrap to sculpture, Arthur Anae - from politics to farming chooks and the Rural News Wrap.
'Like having a baby every day' - Remembering Ken the chicken champion
May 05, 2023 07:36 - 17 minutes - 16 MBCountry Life turns back the clock ten years to our visit with the late Far North farmer Ken Vincent. Back in 2013, he'd been breeding chooks for 70 years.
A year on the farm: A tractor on crutches and a Wi-Fi drenching gun
May 05, 2023 07:27 - 9 minutes - 9.15 MBThe replacement heifer calves are drenched and weighed, mating gets underway in the sheep paddocks and the tractor needs urgent repairs.
A tractor on crutches and a Wi-Fi drenching gun
May 05, 2023 07:27 - 9 minutes - 9.15 MBEpisode Six of A Year on the Farm finds out what happened in April at Alistair and Genna Bird's sheep and beef farm near Oxford in North Canterbury.
Future still uncertain for apple grower post Gabrielle
May 05, 2023 07:20 - 6 minutes - 6 MBLesley Wilson lost her home and most of the apple crop just before harvest when floodwaters filled with logs and other debris swept through the orchard in Puketapu. Nearly three months on, the clean-up continues and patience over funding is running out.
On the Farm - a wrap of conditions on farms around the country
May 05, 2023 07:12 - 7 minutes - 7.27 MBAutumn in Manawatu has been one out of the box. As a result, farmers are taking a fair bit of feed into winter. There won't be much work being done on farms in Southland this weekend - duck shooting season has arrived.
Volunteers dig in at community garden
May 05, 2023 07:07 - 5 minutes - 5.43 MBGreen-fingered locals in the Canterbury town of Kaiapoi love mucking in at their community garden.
Country Life for Friday May 5 - 2023
May 05, 2023 07:07 - 49 minutes - 45.6 MBChicken Champion, A Year on the Farm - Part six, Future still uncertain for apple grower post Gabrielle, Community gets behind organic garden and a wrap of the week's ag news.
A natural ferment - it's the yeast we can do
April 29, 2023 22:32 - 19 minutes - 17.6 MBThe winemaking process starts in the middle of the vineyard at Greystone Wines in the Waipara Valley. Juicy pinot noir grapes are poured into a large vessel among the vines and exposed to wild yeasts for four weeks.
Composting loo and eating insects because "why wouldn't you"
April 28, 2023 07:22 - 14 minutes - 12.9 MBMelissa and Aaron Jacobson are trying to live as sustainably as possible on their small property perching ontop a hill outside of Eltham, Taranaki and plan to turn their way of life into a full-time business.
Polo school programme aims to shed elitist image
April 28, 2023 07:16 - 6 minutes - 5.99 MBTeens from Flaxmere College are saddling up ponies and swinging mallets, learning to play the sport of polo.
Rural News Wrap
April 28, 2023 07:07 - 9 minutes - 8.61 MBRNZ's rural news reporter, Sally Murphy, takes a look at the week's agricultural news.
Country Life Friday April 28, 2023
April 28, 2023 07:06 - 50 minutes - 46.4 MBCountry Life is at Greystone Wines in Waipara, finds out how humanure is helping a Taranaki family's sustainability journey and chats to a polo club owner who wants to shed the game's elitist image.
Trial vineyard has 4000 plants grown in lab
April 22, 2023 05:26 - 14 minutes - 12.8 MBScientists are researching how "jumping genes" can be used to develop more robust pinot noir grapes that still have an iconic New Zealand flavour. Dr Ross Bicknell and Dr Philippa Barrell from Plant and Food Research are leading the project, which involves developing new genetic variants.
Off grid and farming carbon
April 21, 2023 07:40 - 18 minutes - 16.6 MBFormer Wellington mayor Celia Wade-Brown lives in a tiny off-grid house and regenerates native forest on a former sheep and beef farm on the flanks of the Tararua mountain range. The carbon sequestered raises enough funds so she can spend time trapping pests, improving tracks and nursing seedlings.
Tractor with the X-Factor
April 21, 2023 07:20 - 5 minutes - 5.41 MBIt's 100 years since the distinctive all purpose Farmall tractor was introduced on a Texas farm aimed at replacing horses between the rows and reducing the need for a hired hand on small family farms. An enthusiast shows off his New Zealand collection.
A pinnacle reached for pine nut producer
April 21, 2023 07:15 - 3 minutes - 2.9 MBMarlborough's Pinoli Premium Pine Nuts was crowned supreme champion at this year's Outstanding New Zealand Food Producer Awards. Co-founder Lee Paterson speaks to Susan Murray.
Rural News Wrap
April 21, 2023 07:07 - 7 minutes - 7.25 MBRNZ's rural news reporter, Sally Murphy, takes a look at the week's agricultural news.
Country Life for Friday April 24 2023
April 21, 2023 07:07 - 50 minutes - 46.3 MBOff-grid and farming carbon, scientists develop new variants of Pinot Noir grapes, a tractor with the X-Factor, pinnacle reached for pine nut producer and the wrap of ag news.
Healthy home for chooks at clifftop egg farm
April 14, 2023 07:30 - 20 minutes - 19 MBWhen Anna Penn's flock of 3,000 hardy hens stop pecking and look up, they can watch waves crashing into the shore. They're residents at New Zealand's southernmost commercial egg farm, overlooking Te Waewae Bay in Southland.
Sunflower salad bowl paddocks keep cows smiling
April 14, 2023 07:19 - 13 minutes - 12.4 MBSunflower-growing and virtual fencing are just the beginning at Rachel Short forward-looking organic dairy farm.
Mongolian sheep shearers 'excited' about what new skills could offer back home
April 14, 2023 07:13 - 6 minutes - 6.31 MBA three-month stint with New Zealand shearing gangs has brought life changing skills to four Mongolian herders.
Rural News Wrap
April 14, 2023 07:07 - 7 minutes - 6.73 MBCountry Life has previously spoken about the damage to forest estates due to the cyclone - but are crews back at work? The cyclone has also affected the annual Kaimanawa Horse Muster, to control the wild population.
Country Life for 14 April 2023
April 14, 2023 07:06 - 50 minutes - 45.9 MBCracking good eggs on a cliff, Mongolian scissors shearers, Sunflower paddocks on a Taranaki farm and a wrap of the week's ag news.
For the love of wool
April 07, 2023 07:38 - 19 minutes - 18.1 MBPatrizia Vieno is originally from Italy but now farms sheep and beef at Tinui's Rewa Rewa Station. The farm has suffered after Cyclone Gabrielle but Patrizia has not given up her aim of establishing a hub for wool in the station yards.
Stoked to win four good practice farming awards
April 07, 2023 07:22 - 13 minutes - 12.2 MBA Year on the Farm - Episode 5. Alistair and Genna Bird tell Cosmo Kentish-Barnes about their recent success at the Canterbury Ballance Farm Environment Awards and what happened on farm in January and February.
The vertical farms of tomorrow
April 07, 2023 07:15 - 7 minutes - 6.88 MBA French agriculture professor developing new indoor plant varieties and an Auckland man installing vertical farming tech in private homes were two of the attendees at Aotearoa's first-ever Controlled Environment conference this week. Farming tech experts told the Hamilton gathering that New Zealand and Australia are perfectly positioned to feed the world's rapidly growing population.
Rural News Wrap
April 07, 2023 07:08 - 7 minutes - 7.2 MBRNZ's rural news reporter, Sally Murphy, takes a look at the week's agricultural news.
Country Life for Friday April 7 2023
April 07, 2023 07:07 - 49 minutes - 45.6 MBCountry life this week heads to a sheep and beef station near Tinui which was badly damaged in Cyclone Gabrielle. But the scars on the land are not stopping the Italian owner from fulfilling plans to turn it into a hub for producing bespoke yarn, employing locals and boosting the profile of the wool industry. Also, A monthly account of life on the land with Oxford farmer and YouTube vlogger Alistair Bird and his wife Genna. In this episode, the couple talk about their recent success at t...
A slice of Te Kupe: hairy sheep and drone mustering
April 01, 2023 06:22 - 12 minutes - 11.5 MBTaranaki sheep farmer Murray Jackson is looking forward to retiring his woolshed in a couple of years. He's phasing his family farm out of wool production to rear hardy and hairy Australian White sheep.
Ambitious farming sisters develop fashion and food hub
March 31, 2023 06:38 - 23 minutes - 21.2 MBThe shearers' quarters at Davaar Station are a popular stop-off for locals and tourists on the Te Anau-Mossburn Highway. Inside, Anna Macdonald tickles their taste buds with sweets while her older sister Kate fits them with luxury jerseys made from wool grown on the family farm.
Golden Bay farmer opposes virtual fencing
March 31, 2023 06:15 - 8 minutes - 7.68 MBGolden Bay dairy farmer Tim Rhodes says virtual fencing is a worry for the dairy cow, the farmer and the consumer.
Country Life for Friday March 31 2023
March 31, 2023 06:07 - 50 minutes - 46.6 MBCountry Life meets two ambitious farming sisters who've developed a roadside fashion and food hub, a Golden Bay farmer opposed to virtual fencing and heads to Taranaki to find out about hairy sheep and drone mustering.
Adventure trails and organic garden add X-factor to family farm
March 25, 2023 05:24 - 14 minutes - 13.5 MBIn the last few years, Tom O'Brien's Southland farmland has become home to a hand-built bike and hiking track and an organic market garden.