Country Life

Tapanui farmer Mark Tiller came across the Speckle Park cattle breed several years ago while managing a dairy farm. Now he's breeding the cattle full time under the Aniwaniwa Stud name. Speckle Park is an eye-catching Canadian breed developed from three British breeds: Teeswater Shorthorn, Aberdeen Angus and a British white. Three years ago Mark visited some breeders in Canada to select some different bloodlines and brought back 24 embryos. Since then, he's purchased two cows in Canada that are flushed every year for eggs. Mark has been gradually building up his Speckle Park herd and plans to have his first on-farm purebred cattle auction next year.

Charlie Davis wants to protect the old Kelso Dairy Factory in West Otago. "Leave it here, it's history," says the retired farmer and local historian. He's leading a community project to repair the roof and strengthen the walls of the neglected concrete building. The factory was established in 1913 and produced mainly butter and cheese until it closed in 1945. After that it was used for storing wool and farm machinery, until the township was abandoned when the Pomahaka River flooded in 1982. The land was claimed by nearby farmers and is still prone to flooding.

Docking's started in blustery weather in the North and in Te Waipounamu it was a wild week for many on both sides of the main divide.

Among his many duties, Senior Sergeant Alasdair Macmillan is responsible for co-ordinating the movements of New Zealand's two police tractors.

This week Country Life meets a Tapanui farmer who breeds head-turning cattle, visits an old dairy factory being saved from ruin and heads to Northland to meet a rural woman who wears many hats. Merilene Horsford is a farmer, mother of six, grandmother, nurse, music and te reo teacher, Maori medicine producer and firefighter.

This week Country Life's spending time with a rural woman who rarely stands still. Merilene Horsford is a farmer, mother of six, a grandmother, nurse, music teacher, te reo teacher, is active at her marae and church, produces Māori medicines, and is a firefighter.

Twenty-three years ago Otago farmer Allan Richardson and his wife Sonia decided to start farming their 1300 hectare sheep and beef farm organically. Allan's father Colin, who had bought the farm at Heriot in 1956, wasn't convinced. "He said that if you're going to do a trial plot make sure it's at the bottom of the farm where no-one can see it." Allan was awarded a Nuffield scholarship to study organic farming. Part of his 'tool kit' is using homeopathy which he says builds up sheep immunity. He's also using regenerative farming methods to improve the quality of the soil.

Dr Jessica Hutchings, (Ngai Tahu, Gujarati), is an organic farmer, yoga teacher and "recovering" academic who's written books on Maori food security. She has been a leader of the hua parakore or Maori organics movement. She's putting her ideas into practice on her small family farm at the bottom of the Remutakas, north of Wellington.

More kiwifruit blocks are being planted in south Auckland and lambs are skipping around paddocks with the sun on their backs.

Agro-ecologist Nicole Masters is living her dream out of a horse truck in the US helping ranchers and croppers shift mindsets to improve their soils and become more resilient.