Country Life

Dr Paul Dettloff is the consulting vet for the largest organic milk cooperative in the USA with 1700 dairy farms. He is in Geraldine to give a workshop to farmers and vets about transitioning from the high-tech methods of the modern dairy farm toward a more holistic and sustainable practice. He also talks about alternative treatments for cattle infected with the Mycoplasma bovis infection.

Dr Paul Dettloff is the consulting vet for the largest organic milk cooperative in the USA with 1700 dairy farms. He is in Geraldine to give a workshop to farmers and vets about transitioning from the high-tech methods of the modern dairy farm toward a more holistic and sustainable practice. He also talks about alternative treatments for cattle infected with the Mycoplasma bovis infection.

Each year women with breast cancer have the opportunity to get away from it all with Casting for Recovery. Country life joins a group as they enjoy the tranquillity of the country-side and, under the guidance of expert trout fishing 'buddies', flick a fly out into the river .

The Chamberlain family have cultivated spring flowers at Hadstock Farm in Mid Canterbury since the 1930s. Country Life pays them a visit as the last of the bulbs are dug up before it's time to plant early-flowering daffodils.

This week ABC rural news correspondent Brett Worthington says big changes are in the wind in the Australian dairy industry as foreign owners move on in and there's been skulduggery in the wool industry.

Many North Island regions are continuing to cut silage or baleage which is most unusual for this time of year. In the South Island wet weather's making harvesting of grapes in Marlborough very very challenging and it's halting apple picking around the Tasman district.

North Island hemp farmer Dave Jordon says in the future there will be thousands of hectares of industrial hemp grown on farms around New Zealand. This year he hopes to get about 10 tons of hemp stalk per hectare and once harvested it will be processed into fibre.

Country Life goes trout fishing with women recovering from breast cancer, talks to a family growing daffodils for a living, ABC rural correspondent Brett Worthington talks about dairy and wool industry woes, Dave Jordan's just harvested his hemp crop.

Federated Farmers president Katie Milne, the Sheep Milk New Zealand conference, animal behavioural scientist Dr Lindsay Matthews and the Regional Wrap.

West Coast dairy farmer Katie Milne talks about life on the farm at Rotomanu, educating kids about agriculture, confronting environmental issues and some of the other challenges she's faced so far as the new Federated Farmers president.