Country Life

The Harts farm a 610 hectare property in Central Hawkes Bay. Holistic farming is their aim, with the catchphrase, earth care, people care, and fair share. They have pigs, sheep, beef cattle and milking cows, and chickens as well as heaps of visitors. A Japanese man and his family live on a corner of the farm and are starting to grow organic vegetables. Teruhito left Japan to get away from the fall out of the Fukushima nuclear disaster. There's also a lodge or cute cabin for people to stay in. Mangarara's the first recipient of money from the Air NZ Environmental Trust set up in 2007.

South Australian farmer Mark Branson is in Hamilton for The International Precision Agriculture Conference.

A prototype methane recovery system is up and running on a 900 cow farm in Southland. Dairy Green agricultural and engineering consultant Quinton Scandrett says it took three years to plan and build the system. He says performance has exceeded forecasts and cow manure now provides 30KW electrical power and 60KW hot water per hour. It can power the majority of the farm's energy needs, including running an electric farm bike.

At last some more stable fine weather is letting North Island farmers get onto cultivating pastures and making silage, while at the top of South Island flower bud thinning is underway in kiwifruit orchards.

A few of New Zealand's 400 golf courses have 1,000-plus members, but others just a couple of dozen. Country Life visits four country courses in the North Island to see how they are managing to keep the clubhouse doors open.

Pirinoa Station has been in the same family for 140 years. Now the old blacksmith's shop, in a tiny corner of the farm, has been transformed into a cafe.

Stephen Fookes is a US-based New Zealander manufacturing three, high-value NZ wool-based products for American customers: wool pillows, wool chilly bins, wool insulation panels

Waikato has had a break from relentless rain this week but Canterbury has had plenty; 100 mils fell across the region halting cultivating, drilling and the spreading of fertiliser.

Exciting prospects for our cross bred wool thanks to high value products in the USA, and country golf - just how do those clubs keep going...

Chris Thorn turned his passion for hunting and curing wild meats into a business that produces venison salami from locally shot deer. He and his wife Sally's Gathered Game salami sells in in specialty food stores around New Zealand.