Country Life

Lucas Smith, a 21-year-old entrepreneur and mountain guide, is producing merino wool blister protection for walkers, trampers, hunters and climbers.

Rod Millen is a New Zealand and international motor racing champion who has lived in the United States since 1978. He now commutes every two weeks between California and Hahei in the Coromandel . Rod grew up on a farm in New Zealand and is now combining his love of rural life here with his love for motor racing. He's bought a farm and each year hosts the Leadfoot Festival on it. It's a festival of speed and driving. Drivers come from all over New Zealand and from overseas to scream up a hill climb course, that for 363 other days of the year, doubles as the farm's driveway. Also, winning poultry prizes is becoming a habit for 27-year-old duck breeder Richard Price, who rears his quacky birds on a 12 acre lifestyle block in Mosgiel... And Sourdough bread made the genuine slow way in a very rural artisan bakehouse.

NZ growers are snapping up the newest apple on the block, Dazzle, and Piqa Boo, a new pear variety that combines the best of the East and West.

The Cardrona Distillery is nestled high in the Cardrona Valley between Wanaka and Queenstown. It's a dream come true for Desiree and Ash Whitaker who opened the plant in late 2015 after years of research and planning.

A day off, socks, rain and more money for lamb are just some of things farmers attending this week's Frankton sale wanted in their Christmas stocking

Every year more than 30-thousand Christmas trees are cut at Noel and Janet Higham's South Head farm near Helensville. The trees are sold as far away as Wellington.

Approval has been given to introduce a tiny wasp that will kill the damaging potato psyllid and $4.25 million has been earmarked to develop a meat sensor able to measure the quality of meat destined for export.

Ewes are being dagged and shorn in Southland and everyone's trying to get their lambs to the works before Christmas. In the North Island maize is finally growing well and the order has gone out for regular dollops of rain over summer.

West Melton fruit grower Peter Sargeant has had to cancel all his Christmas cherry orders because the season is running so late, but luckily his strawberry crop is ripe for picking and the punnets are flying out of his tunnel house.

Helen Slattery's rural contracting firm is one in a small network of businesses across New Zealand that collects used plastic wraps from bales of stock feed and sends it for recycling.