Cosmo Kentish Barnes
Country Life Friday 7 March 2025
This week Country Life takes a look at the process of breeding new varieties of apples, gets an update on the grape harvest and visits a commune in Golden Bay. Audio
Farmer rapt with edible bale netting
Plastic free paddocks have become a reality thanks to Grant Lightfoot. The Orepuke deer farmer, who invented a non-polluting baleage wrap that animals can eat, has just received his first shipment of… Audio
Country Life Friday 28 February 2025
Coming up on Country Life... 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 Southland deer farmer… Audio
Farmers turn weed into wellness products
Hemp grows beside wheat, barley and peas at Blair and Jody Drysdale's farm in northern Southland. The seeds are pressed in the farmyard and made into nutritional oil and skincare cream, that the… Audio
Country Life Friday 21 Feb 2025
A farming couple in Southland are making health products from the hemp they grow, and we get some insights into the Chinese market for New Zealand wine. Audio
Gut fixing seaweed cuts methane emissions from gassy cattle
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, their products or the environment. Audio
Country Life for Friday 14 February 2025
Country Life this week heads inside a Hawke's Bay packhouse and orchard once covered in millions of litres of silt after Cyclone Gabrielle, meets a topdressing pilot who's still flying after nearly… Audio
Across the board support for shearing fundraiser
Dozens of shearers slipped on their moccasins for the Shear For Life charity shearing event at Hinds, raising $150,000 for the Ashburton Cancer Society and Hospice Mid Canterbury. Audio
Country Life Friday 7 February 2025
Country Life this week heads to a woolshed where hundreds of sheep are being shorn for charity and finds out how the Tora Coastal Walk's helped a rugged sheep and beef farm weather tough times. Audio
Country Life for 31 January 2025
This week, the team meet farmers Joyce and Jock Wyllie, who first met when she was a locum vet visiting his isolated farm in Golden Bay, checks back in to see what progress Miley the Huntaway is… Audio
Country Life for 24 January 2025
The best of Country Life including a microgreens farm in Te Puke, potato growing in Otago and goat milking near Wellington Audio
SS5 - OCW - Country Life Hinewai Reserve
Hugh Wilson, a renowned botanist and conservationist, had long held a dream of managing a bit of land where he could just "let nature re-assert herself". The 79-year-old has certainly found that in… Audio
The Christmas tree whisperer moves into mazes
Thousands of perfectly shaped trees are harvested in the lead-up to the festive season at Andrew McAllister's Needle Fresh Christmas tree farm Swannanoa. In a next door paddock he's created a huge… Audio
Country Life Friday 20 December 2024
Now it's time for Country Life and this week, the team brings you stories about the rodeo world and an old rural homestead which has been turned into a sumptuous retreat. Audio
Off-grid farming family focus on farm-to-fork beef and lamb
Sustainability, animal welfare and forging a connection between producer and consumer is at the core of how things are done at Ellis Creek Farm, near the Abel Tasman National Park in Golden Bay. Audio
Full Episode for Friday 13 December 2024
This week the team meets a farming family in Golden Bay who grow, process and sell homegrown meat direct to the public. Audio
Country Life for 6 December 2024
This week, there's cheese and eggs on the menu with visits to poultry and goat farms. The team also takes a closer look at what's in the pipeline for farmers to help lower emissions. Audio