Country Life

Dairy farmers near Tauranga say their paddocks are drying off nicely during drier weather this week and in Southland ewes are being moved onto crops before lambing next month.

The Onuku Māori Lands Trust is just starting its third season milking sheep near Rerewhakaaitu, south of Rotorua. One of its dairy cow farms was converted to dairy sheep in 2020 and the business is going better than expected.

In celebration of Country Life's 25th birthday we will be delving into the archives over the next few months. This week we're hearing a selection of stories that the team covered in the first year of Country Life. From drought, to flood, to cramped rural health facilities and the rabbit killing virus RCD.

Children in war-torn Ukraine will hopefully have some winter woollies from New Zealand to keep warm in this winter. Knitting groups from around the country have taken up their needles for the long-running Operation Cover Up which sends hand-knitted blankets and clothing to eastern Europe.

Aaron Dodd, Chief Investigator and Deputy Director of the Centre for Excellence for Biosecurity Risk Analysis, based at the University of Melbourne, chats about the foot and mouth disease risk for New Zealand.

Around Taumaranui it's been time to get firewood stacked in the shed between showers. Scanning's done and lambing starts about mid August so the ewes are being moved to their set paddocks. Calving is going well in Southland but winter is only half way through and farmers are wondering whether they need to buy in more feed.

Biosecurity Risk expert, Onuku Maori Trust Sheep Milking enterprise, 25 Years of Country Life - Year One 1997: A Retrospective, Knitting needles are clicking for Operation Cover Up and the Regional Round-up.

A group of farmers in Canterbury's Selwyn district are focused on improving water quality in streams that flow through their properties. Ellesmere Sustainable Agriculture has received government money to help fund its work and other projects in the community.

Kids cooped up because of Covid are being encouraged to pick up a fly fishing rod and learn how to catch trout. The Tongariro National Trout Centre also has big plans for education about the fishery, natives, freshwater and aquaponics.

Truffles are in hot demand but one grower says the wet season means her harvest is down considerably.