Country Life

Reducing Nitrate Leaching, Undie Fivehundy - Owaka, European Farming Insights and the Regional Wrap.

Reducing nitrate leaching losses by 20 percent is the main goal of a Dairy NZ programme led by senior scientist Ina Pinxterhuis. Grant and Jan Early farm at Ruapuna and have been involved in the research programme since its inception six years ago.

In the new series Undie Fivehundy, the Country Life team visit rural communities with populations under 500. First stop, Owaka – the gateway to the Catlins.

Country Life has a new series. The team's visiting rural communities with populations under 500. First stop Owaka - the gateway to the Catlins.

MPI Director of Response Geoff Gwyn says MPI is working closely with Henk Smith to address his concerns.

Henk Smit is hurting. M Bovis has been found in his herd and that means culling 800 calves and cows from two farms. He's finding attending to the paperwork and dealing with agencies managing the response to the disease exhausting and frustrating.

Pepin Island near Nelson was bought by a German business woman in 1996 for two million dollars. She employed local farmers Andrew and Nicki Newton to manage the scenic 521 hectare sheep and beef property and they've been there ever since.

Rural law specialist Ian Blackman believes there is a clear cut way to make sure land is transferred fairly to the next generation.

Every year for the past 18 years, Welsh farmer Rhys Howatson has spent a few weeks in New Zealand pregnancy scanning sheep. He's scanned millions of them.

Gisborne has had a couple of frosts and quite strong nor-west winds. Karamea, on the South Island's West Coast, had a mid-week down pour of about 150 millimetres.