Country Life

Country Life heads to Gore for the Tussock Country Music festival, visits a woollen mill in the heart of a remote hill country station whose farmer has fulfilled her dream of creating a hub for wool, and Nuffield scholar Lisa Portas chats about the potential for New Zealand farmers to increase the value of the fibre.

You can find photos and read more about the stories in this episode on our webpage, here.

In this episode:

• 0:00 - Wonderful wool: Nuffield scholar see's bright future for natural fibre
• 0:00 - Rural News Wrap
• 0:00 - Closing the loop: wool to yarn without leaving the farm
• 0:00 - A country music pilgrimage

With thanks to:

• Lisa Portas, Nuffield Scholar
• Mel Kiernan and Patrizia Vieno
• Annabel Roy, Jaydin Shingleton, The Rusty Pickups, Sandra Campbell, and Laura Koot

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Anisha visits Gore for a slice of the Tussock Country Music Festival - boots, utes, mullets and all!

You can find photos and read more about the stories in this episode on our webpage, here.

With thanks to:

• Annabel Roy, Jaydin Shingleton, The Rusty Pickups, Sandra Campbell, and Laura Koot

Go to this episode on rnz.co.nz for more details

Taking the wool off the sheep's back and turning it into yarn within a few paces of the shearing shed has been a dream come true for a North Island sheep farmer. Patrizia Vieno has built a mini mill on her hill country station near Tinui.

You can find photos and read more about the stories in this episode on our webpage, here.

With thanks to:

• Mel Kiernan and Patrizia Vieno

Go to this episode on rnz.co.nz for more details

A wrap of the week's news from RNZ's rural news team.

You can find more from RNZ's rural news team, here.

Go to this episode on rnz.co.nz for more details

Wairarapa-based Nuffield Scholar Lisa Portas recently wrapped up her research looking into why New Zealand's strong-wool sector struggles to capture value despite producing a sustainable fibre.

You can find photos and read more about the stories in this episode on our webpage, here.

You can find her Nuffield Scholar report, here.

With thanks to:

• Lisa Portas

Go to this episode on rnz.co.nz for more details

This week Country Life heads to a basketball game to celebrate rural migrants, checks out the new tech at Fieldays and follows the journey of urban food scraps to a banana farm.

You can find photos and read more about the stories in this episode on our webpage, here.

In this episode:

• 0:00 - Rural News Wrap
• 8:41 - Galvbike: E-bike makers riding agritech wave at Fieldays
• 16:43 - Migrants give back to their communities
• 28:12 - From the Archives: City to Farm - how leftovers are giving back to the land

With thanks to:

• Anthony Clyde
• Guillermo and Christina Tolentino, Kristine Asuncion, Aline Ciron, Vincent Travasas and Edwin Patulin
• Betsy Kettle, Phil Grainger, Jenny Grainger, Nick Wotton, Dylan Hatt, and Jill Clark

Make sure you’re following us on your favourite podcast app, so you don’t miss new episodes every Friday evening.

Send us your feedback or get in touch at [email protected]

Go to this episode on rnz.co.nz for more details

Food scraps from retirement villages and schools are heping to nourish a banana orchard and other farms via the City to Farm project, which aims to keep organic waste out of landfill and help curb climate change. This story was first broadcast in July 2025.

You can find photos and read more about the stories in this episode on our webpage, here.

With thanks to:

• Betsy Kettle, Phil Grainger, Jenny Grainger, Nick Wotton, Dylan Hatt, and Jill Clark

Make sure you’re following us on your favourite podcast app, so you don’t miss new episodes every Friday evening.

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Send us your feedback or get in touch at [email protected]

Go to this episode on rnz.co.nz for more details

Anisha learns how the rural Filipino migrant community has grown in the last 20 years - and watches some basketball.

You can find photos and read more about the stories in this episode on our webpage, here.

With thanks to:

• Guillermo and Christina Tolentino, Kristine Asuncion, Aline Ciron, Vincent Travasas and Edwin Patulin

Go to this episode on rnz.co.nz for more details

Anthony Clyde, considered the godfather of e-bikes in New Zealand, has created a new electric farmbike that's proving a hit at Fieldays, the Galvbike.

You can find photos and read more about the stories in this episode on our webpage, here.

You can learn more about Galvbike, here.

With thanks to:

• Anthony Clyde

Go to this episode on rnz.co.nz for more details

A wrap of the week's news from RNZ's rural news team.

You can find more from RNZ's rural news team, here.

Go to this episode on rnz.co.nz for more details