Rural
On-farm learning a success - "I've been enjoying it. I like being with the cows and being in the shed"
A training initiative in Southland is giving young adults with high-functioning disabilities the skills required to work on a dairy farm.
Hundreds of sheep scramble through Te Kūiti
Te Kūiti has opened its main street to welcome a herd of hundreds of sheep running the gauntlet, for its annual Great New Zealand Muster festival. Audio
On-farm learning a success
A training programme in Southland is giving young adults with high-functioning disabilities, the skills required to work on a dairy farm. Michial Todd was the first to graduate and now he's a… Audio
The Kūmara Connection
It's nearly time for the kumara harvest at Kai Rotorua and a new storage building there is waiting for its first crop. It's made out of hempcrete, an exciting new material made from hemp. One of the… Audio
Country Life for 28 March 2025
This week Country Life takes a look at how the folk at Kai Rotorua are preparing for the upcoming kumara harvest. Also, a training programme in Southland is giving young adults with high-functioning… Audio
Rural News Wrap for 28 March 2025
A round-up of the week's news from the primary sector. Audio
The kūmara connection
It's nearly time for the kūmara harvest at Kai Rotorua and this year, old meets new.
NZ Hops chalks up EU export 'win' amid glut
Increased hops production has led to a surplus of the dried flower used in beer making or for medicinal purposes.
NZ Shearing Champs underway in Te Kuiti
It's the annual Running of the Sheep this weekend in Te Kuiti - Doug Laing tells us what's happening. Audio
Kaimanawa wild horses champion preparing to foster
A champion of the Kaimanawa wild horses said she may have to foster a hundred from the herd with a DOC cull scheduled for next month and a shortage of people wanting to give the ponies homes. The… Audio
Midday Rural News for 27 March 2025
Farm owners are being encouraged to look after their contract milkers as the drought continues. Audio
South Taranaki farmers need more rain
Taranaki reporter Robin Martin takes us on a tour of the region of Taranaki where it's the direst it's been in decades Audio
NZ's fruit wins in competitive Vietnamese produce market
NZ apple exporters are trying to capitalise on the increasingly wealthy Vietnamese consumer, while elbowing out global competition. Audio
Midday Rural News for 26 March 2025
The Resource Management Act reforms look good for farmers. Audio
Palm kernel supply chain tainted by connections to deforestation, Greenpeace says
Two major exporters of palm kernel to New Zealand have been found to source kernel from illegal operations in Indonesia's Rawa Singkil Wildlife Reserve in Sumatra.
Good times, tough times and everything in between
Farming in the wake of the Mount Tarawera eruption has tested the Ford family for nearly a century.
Highlands Station - a farm shaped by an eruption
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 in the sensitive Rotorua Lakes area has earned… Audio
Deep dive: See the potential that is seaweed
As part of Aotearoa's first seaweed festival, Pacific Harvest hosted a seaweed tasting event where people could sample various red, green and brown dried seaweeds. Audio