Country Life

Gentle amounts of rain have tickled the grass on many North Island farms, although eastern parts such as Hawkes Bay and Wairarapa are drying quickly in the strong winds. In the South Island Canterbury and Central Otago are green. Central hasn't been so green at this time of year since 1982. Sheep farmers are most disappointed at the poor lamb prices.

Genevieve King has just published a book about the food grown, produced and gathered in the Clarence Valley north of Kaikoura. She is from a high country farm that has suffered huge damage from the November earthquake and is also a raft guide and was camping with clients on the Clarence River when the quake hit.

Landcorp's Rangitaiki Station on the Central Plateau is one of the SOE's larger enterprises. It has tens of thousands of animals, including New Zealand's largest deer herd. There are 20 staff and over 100 dogs. Venison from the farm is now being marketed under Landcorp's Pamu brand in North America and New Zealand. Using the Pamu brand Landcorp is developing partnerships with NZ processing and marketing companies. The aim is add value beyond the farm gate.

Forests planted on the East Coast 30 years ago are now being harvested and it's having a huge positive spinoff for people in the area.

John Perriam has been growing fine wool at Bendigo Station in Central Otago since 1979. He was at the centre of farmer-driven initiative that led to the formation of Merino New Zealand and more recently he has overseen the transformation of the lower slopes of the 11,000 hectare property into a significant new wine area.

Wind has ripped newly sown crops out of the ground in Horowhenua. In the South Island it's much greener than usual for the time of year but the ground is starting to dry out.

Returns for wool have taken a dive. Federated Farmers Meat and Fibre spokeserson Rick Powdrell says the demand from Chinese buyers has dropped right off and returns following the Brexit vote have dipped.

Resilience and community spirit have shone through in North Canterbury in the aftermath of the earthquake. With no active civil defence post in operation in Cheviot in the days after the 7.8 quake, a group of locals mobilised a task force to support those in need. Further north at Mendip Hills Station farm manager Simon Lee has been repairing broken water pipes and clearing slips in time for weaning, while on Ben Lissington's dairy farm near Waiau, milk tankers are having to go off the beaten track to get to the rotary shed after a six metre section of the road was destroyed.

When Amy Dibley came back from her OE, she needed a job – so she bought a massage table and an EFTPOS machine and headed out into the country. Now she has ten physiotherapy clinics and has just been named the supreme winner at the Enterprising Rural Women awards.

The Bay of Plenty avocado harvest is half way through and in Waikato, the harvesting of outdoor blueberries started this week. Lamb weaning is gaining momentum in Canterbury while in Central Otago cherry harvesting is underway.