Country Life

Country Life meets Hawke's bay stud owner Tony Thompson who's been breeding cattle for half a century. The team also find out about an organic vege growing business in Canterbury and chat to a sheep and beef farming family about diversifying their business.

You can find photos and read more about the stories in this episode on our webpage, here.

In this episode:

• 0:40 - Rural News Wrap
• 6:40 - Organic vege business mushrooms under green fingered growers
• 16:42 - Heights Farms built on family
• 29:20 - A Life of Legacy: Tony Thompson and the Glen Anthony Stud

With thanks to guests:

• Penny Platt and Isaac Green, Untamed Earth Organic Farm
• Anna and Blair Robinson, Heights Farms
• Tony Thompson, Glen Anthony Super Simmentals

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Collecting fine china is one of the passions of long-time Simmental cattle breeder Tony Thompson, bringing new meaning to the saying "like a bull in a china shop".

You can find photos and read more about this episode on our webpage, here.

You can learn more about Glen Anthony Super Simmentals, here.

In this episode:

• 0:12 - The origins of the Glen Anthony stud
• 2:56 - Shaping the stud
• 4:30 - Meet the girls and the sale bulls
• 13:30 - Memorable moments over 50 years
• 16:18 - Collecting fine China

With thanks to:

• Tony Thompson

Make sure you’re following us on your favourite podcast app, so you don’t miss new episodes every Friday evening.

Want to chat to us or find out more about RNZ Podcasts? Join the RNZ Podcasts Discussion Facebook group where we share behind the scenes info about our series, and invite you to share feedback, recommendations and ask us questions.

Send us your feedback or get in touch at [email protected]

Go to this episode on rnz.co.nz for more details

Tucked under the Tararua Range, fifth generation sheep and beef farmers, the Robinsons, have added a diverse range of income streams to the family farm including finding new purposes for the old woolshed.

You can find photos and read more about this episode on our webpage, here.

You can learn more about Heights Farms, here. Or for the Heights Experience, see here.

With thanks to:

• Anna and Blair Robinson

Go to this episode on rnz.co.nz for more details

They started growing vegetables in paddock for lockdown vege boxes. Five years on, Penny Platt, her brother Ollie and Issac Green grow over 40 crops on 24 hectares of chemical free farmland in Canterbury.

You can find photos and read more about this episode on our webpage, here.

You can learn more about Untamed Earth Organic Farm, here.

With thanks to:

• Penny Platt and Isaac Green

Go to this episode on rnz.co.nz for more details

A round-up of the week's news from the primary sector.

Go to this episode on rnz.co.nz for more details

This week on Country Life we check out an artificially constructed lake on Braemore Farm that's built for water storage and fun we’re out with Anna and Mitch Munro are out on the farm every day with 18-month-old Charlie in tow.

You can find photos and read more about the stories in this episode on our webpage, here.

In this episode:

• 0:35 - A garden to munch on
• 6:23 - Rural News Wrap
• 14:15 - Wairarapa farmer 'proud' of DIY lake
• 27:26 - Farming with a toddler in tow

With thanks to guests:

• Cath Goodrick, Kai Rotorua
• Len French, Lake Braemore
• Anna and Mitch Munro, Muster Photography

Make sure you’re following us on your favourite podcast app, so you don’t miss new episodes every Friday evening.

Like what you hear? Tell us! Leave us a review on your favourite podcast app or join the RNZ Podcasts Facebook group and join the convo.

Send us your feedback or get in touch at [email protected]

Go to this episode on rnz.co.nz for more details

20-month-old Charlie Munro already knows some dog calls and how to open gates. His mum, Anna, also grew up at Cravendale, a hill country farm near Mount Somers.

You can find photos and read more about this episode on our webpage, here.

You can also find some of Anna's other photos here.

In this episode:

• 0:12 - Shifting stock at Cravendale
• 4:00 - Working with toddler in tow
• 8:30 - Learning the ropes
• 13:50 - A homecoming on the family farm
• 16:00 - Behind the lens, capturing rural life with a camera
• 18:15 - Songbird

With thanks to guests:

• Mitch and Anna Munro, and Charlie Munro

Make sure you’re following us on your favourite podcast app, so you don’t miss new episodes every Friday evening.

Want to chat to us or find out more about RNZ Podcasts? Join the RNZ Podcasts Discussion Facebook group where we share behind the scenes info about our series, and invite you to share feedback, recommendations and ask us questions.

Send us your feedback or get in touch at [email protected]

Go to this episode on rnz.co.nz for more details

Len French wanted a lake to help with water security on his eastern Wairarapa farm. What he's built, Lake Braemore, is now a community asset that can be enjoyed by all.

You can find photos and read more about this episode on our webpage, here.

You can learn more about Lake Braemore, here.

With thanks to:

• Len French

Go to this episode on rnz.co.nz for more details

A round-up of the week's news from the primary sector.

Go to this episode on rnz.co.nz for more details

Landscape designer and market gardener Cath Goodrick enjoys showing how people to incorporate kai into their gardens.

You can hear more about Kai Rotorua and the kumara harvest which we featured recently here.

With thanks to:

• Cath Goodrick.

Go to this episode on rnz.co.nz for more details