Country Life

Many people believe sheep on steep hill country farms don't affect the water quality of streams – but that's not quite the case, says animal behaviour scientist Dr Lindsay Matthews.

Taranaki's had some decent weather. Areas that were exceptionally dry until the end of February have had good rain but are still reasonably short of grass and both pasture and cow condition need to recover. A huge amount of silage and bailage is being made across Southland and summer crop paddocks are being worked up for winter grass.

Sheep Milk NZ held its 4th annual conference this week in Palmerston North. 150 people attended and Craig Prichard from Massey University says it's a very exciting time for the industry.

Black nosed Valais is a breed of sheep new to New Zealand. Originating in Switzerland in the 1400's, the sheep are undeniably cute -  with black ears, faces, knees and feet and if they're a girl, a black bottom too.

Inter-Weave is the largest manufacturer of woollen fabric in the Southern Hemisphere. It produces 150,000 metres of fabric a year on looms at its Auckland mill.

Denis Wright is a former high school English teacher - and now full time writer of young adult fiction, and today he's reading a piece he wrote for us about the overwhelming excitement as a child attending a stock sale in the South Canterbury township of Pleasant Point.

Extremely heavy downpours of rain in the central North Island this week have resulted in massive slips, road blockages and power cuts. West Coast dairy farmers are starting to de-stock and pregnancy testing is past the half-way point. In South Otago meetings are taking place to discuss Mycoplasma bovis and on-farm biosecurity.

Kim McGlashen of Mac Hops says picking is well underway at his properties in Motueka and in the Moutere Valley near Nelson. He is also a shareholder in New Zealand Hops, a grower co-operative that processes, markets and ships most of the sought-after hops grown in the region.

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Country life meets up with a very cute sheep breed that's new to New Zealand it has black feet, ears, knees and face. Inter-Weave is the Southern Hemisphere's largest woollen fabric manufacturer

The Hurunui Race and Gala Day is a highlight on the local calendar. The biennial community event was held recently at Medbury in North Canterbury and attracted more than 2000 race-goers.