Country Life

A round-up of the week's agricultural news with RNZ rural news reporter Sally Murphy.

Wool Source has teamed up with cosmetic brand Karen Murrell to create a lipstick coloured with wool keratin-based pigment.

A round-up of the week's agricultural news with RNZ rural news reporter Sally Murphy in Ōtautahi Christchurch.

The top of the South Island has avoided the worst of the weather with heavy rainfall largely welcomed by farmers. Meanwhile the Government's taking another look at fresh-water farm plans, launched a Select Committee investigation into rural banking and is also being urged to do more to protect productive soils.

Westland had about 800 millimetres of rain fall over three days.

Westland Milk is seeking more farmer suppliers after reporting a record profit of $55.9 million, Cloudy Bay Winery is set to double its pinot noir production after buying a farm in Otago and a Christchurch-based company's breakthrough could see wool used to make powders and pigments for things like lipstick.

Farm sales are quieter compared to last year, and a refresh of food and fibre qualifications is underway.

Westland Milk reported a record profit of $55.9 million.

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

This week on Country Life, farmers and growers around the country have been getting together to hear about research which might help New Zealand agriculture adapt to future challenges. The team also catches up with Rural Riders, a group of farmers taking some much needed time off-farm by mountain biking.

This week on Country Life, farmers and growers around the country have been getting together to hear about research which might help New Zealand agriculture adapt to future challenges. The team also catches up with Rural Riders, a group of farmers taking some much needed time off-farm by mountain biking, and meets Taranaki Dairy Trainee of the Year Eric Fa'anoi.

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

Eric Fa'anoi has gone from helping farmers protect the environment to being a farmer himself. A visit to his ancestral village in Samoa also helped this young man from Porirua unearth his interest in agriculture.

Eric Fa'anoi has gone from helping farmers protect the environment to being a farmer himself.

A visit to his ancestral village in Samoa also helped this young man from Porirua unearth his interest in agriculture.

Until fairly recently he was an advisor and researcher with Horizons Regional Council, helping farmers plant their waterways and protect native fish.

Now you can find him in the pit of a herringbone dairy shed, milking twice a day, working for contract milker Matthew O'Connell in Taranaki.

He recently won Taranaki Dairy Trainee of the Year in the New Zealand Dairy Awards and spoke to Country Life.

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

Rural Riders is a chance for farmers to get off the farm on a bike, spin some yarns and focus on the dips and the jumps rather than the weather and the milk price.

Focusing on the bike track instead of the cows for a change is great for wellbeing, according to members of the mountain biking group Rural Riders.

And you don't need anything fancy to ride on to enjoy it, they say.

Dairy farmer Brendan Cairns borrowed his daughter's bike when he first started going out with the New Plymouth branch.

Now with his own bike, he tries to get out as much as he can.

"If you don't have an appointment then you won't get off farm. Because we have to be here at 6 o'clock you have to get your jobs done."

He's one of a bunch coming off the trails at Lake Mangamahoe and standing over a chilly bin of cold beers, chatting to Country Life.

Tune in to hear how farmers are benefiting with Rural Riders

The first Rural Riders group was set up in Taupo in 2019 and now there are a dozen groups around New Zealand.

Following the model of Surfing for Farmers, on bikes rather than boards, the activity is about promoting health and wellbeing in the agriculture industry.

The groups range in size from 10 to 30-plus and the rides take place weekly or fortnightly.

Supported by the Rural Support Trust and several commercial sponsors, Rural Riders is winding up another season on the trails.

From physical to mental health, the New Plymouth riders say the biking all helps.

"Dairy farming's not as physical as it used to be," farmer Neil Ryan told Country Life.

"You sit in a tractor and you walk up and down the pit in the cow shed but you don't break into a sweat digging post holes like you used to."

From banter to the serious stuff, they cover many topics while out on the trails.

"You just get stuck in your own little rut and you just keep going so it's good to get out and socialise," Stephen Hancock said.

He hadn't hopped on a bike for 20 years until he was persuaded to come along.

The social aspect is what has Dwayne Hill looking forward to Thursday evenings.

"I smile a lot here."

He works in an office these days in biosecurity for bees but also sees the benefits the rides give to those on farm.

"There's been a week when we've talked about the hardship of some of the things people were going through and helped each other out…

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

Brothers Callum and Archie Woodhouse have been named the top two finalists in this year's East Coast Young Farmer of the Year competition. We catch up with the siblings as they prepare for the next round of the competition.

A little bit of sibling rivalry can be a healthy thing, as brothers Archie and Callum Woodhouse recently proved.

The two recently came up against each other at the East Coast FMG Young Farmer competition held at the Solway Showgrounds in Masterton, where they took out the top two places.

The brothers grew up on their family's sheep and beef farm near Eketāhuna, with both going down the rural route and studying at Lincoln University.

Callum, 24, recently moved to Waikato where he is now working as a product specialist for Halter Ltd, which sells solar-powered smart cow collars to help farmers to remotely shift stock, monitor stock and create virtual fencelines. Archie, 22, has returned to the family farm after finishing his studies.

Representing the South Wairarapa Young Farmers Club, both brothers took part in the competition which challenges young farmers on a range of essential skills. From fencing to bookwork, the two found their experience and areas of expertise differed.

Fresh from four years of uni, Archie enjoyed the bookwork component especially, though he said it was also good to put his practical skills to use in fencing, which is "part of day-to-day farming". However, he found himself less experienced when it came to the horse module.

"It was nice to be challenged," he said.

Callum meanwhile enjoyed the farm work, but was a fish out of water when it came to the fisheries module.

Both said it was good to test their skills against young farmers from other clubs and learn from them.

"It was a great calibre of people involve in this year's competition," Archie said.

It was he who ultimately came out on top, with Callum coming in second.

Archie said it was nice to have some "familiar competition", describing his brother as being switched on both academically and practically.

"It's cool to get a win there. It was a bit intimidating knowing he was breathing down my neck," Archie said.

"It was good knowing we were both here and both having a crack."

Callum agreed competing against his brother provided some "healthy competition" and said he couldn't have been happier his brother beat him. He has even offered to help Archie with his revision for the upcoming national competition.

Archie planned to spent the next three months studying and preparing ahead of the grand final of the FMG Young Farmer of the Year competition, to be held in Hamilton in July.

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

Morgan Kane moved back home when she lost her job at a tech start up. It was the start of her move, with her husband, into market gardening. She and her parents welcome the advantages of multigenerational living and the chance to put a large lifestyle block of rich Taranaki soil into production.

Being made redundant from her job in the tech industry was the nudge Morgan Kane needed to get into market gardening.

She and husband Aydan Mitchell enjoyed plunging their hands in the soil during the first pandemic lockdown, when they decamped to her parents' 1.6-hectare block of land on the outskirts of New Plymouth.

It was autumn, a busy time on the farmlet, and Morgan wasn't able to be in Wellington where her job with a tech start-up was based, so they just went to work.

"During Covid I fell in love with the garden," Morgan told Country Life.

She was eventually made redundant from the tech job, but with a growing interest in horticulture, she had done a course to gain extra knowledge.

"Getting made redundant really pushed me to start the market garden."

They moved into the converted garage adjacent to her parents' home in Brixton and she started her own food-growing venture on their land.

"It's got beautiful soil. They call it the golden triangle."

Listen to how Morgan Kane moved from tech to growing food

It's a warm day on the cusp of autumn four years later when Country Life visits.

We weave our way through beds of newly planted brassicas, avocado trees and banana fronds, taking a whiff of the compost as a friendly chicken clucks and pecks its way behind us.

Aydan and Morgan brim with enthusiasm as they point out new areas to be put into crops. The area is between the coast and the mountain and has its own microclimate, which the banana trees and other crops seem to love.

Aydan harvests the produce after work, and he plans to become more involved - although at the moment he agrees he is the cash cow for the fledgling business.

Under the brand Clarty Produce, they are growing a diverse range of fruit and vegetables, some experimental like the luffa (or loofah) plant which can be used as a scrubbing tool.

The brand name is a nod to Morgan's Scottish heritage. Clarty means "dirty", especially in the sense of getting muddy.

They use organic principles, although are not certified, and make their own compost and vermicast fertiliser, aiming for a closed loop system.

"Having access to the land is the biggest thing... you put so much effort into the soil."…

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

This week Country Life meets a young woman who lost her job in the tech industry and turned things around by getting her hands in the soil and starting up a market garden. The team also heads to Banks Peninsula where unwanted gear in farm sheds has been turned into cold hard cash for the benefit of the community.

This week Country Life meets a young woman who lost her job in the tech industry and turned things around by getting her hands in the soil and starting up a market garden. The team also heads to Banks Peninsula where unwanted gear in farm sheds has been turned into cold hard cash for the benefit of the community.

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

Every year on Easter Saturday, unwanted bric-a-brac goes under the hammer at a huge Paddy's Market and White Elephant in Akaroa. It's run by the Akaroa and Bays Lions Club, which raises thousands of dollars for the local community

Every year on Easter Saturday, unwanted bric-a-brac goes under the hammer at a huge Paddy's Market and white elephant sale in Akaroa.

It's run by the Akaroa and Bays Lions Club, which raises thousands of dollars for the local community.

Donated goods collected by Lions volunteers over the past 12 months are displayed in lines across the recreation ground.

"We have two auction trucks that go up the lines and people bid and that's how we sell things," said Lions member and Paddy's Market organiser, Tony Mason.

Listen to Cosmo's audio here

From a yacht and old stereos, to saw benches and oddball furniture, it's an interesting cultural display of what people no longer want in their lives.

Erected in the corner of the ground is the make-me-an-offer white elephant marquee. It turns out a good place to be, as the day is showery.

Inside, 25 volunteers frantically load the tables with just about everything you can find in a house.

Outside, hundreds of punters wait patiently, then at 10am, a bell rings and in they race.

After a few minutes, the tables have been ransacked for coin-priced stuff.

"It's surprising what people buy. There always seems to be something for somebody which is wonderful!" says white elephant co-ordinator Pip Mason.

At the end of the day it's all about supporting people in need, and Tony's hoping the fundraiser will generate at least $14,000.

"This market doesn't have a specific beneficiary. We raise this basically to have enough money in our coffers to be available to anyone who needs it."

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

Rain is still needed in many parts of the country. Hay and baleage is being trucked around to ensure stock get the feed they need. The grape harvest is well through in Central Otago with good yields and clean fruit.

There's a good volume of gold kiwifruit coming off in Bay of Plenty and in beautiful condition.

In Northland, there's enough grazing on hand to keep farmers from cutting into their winter feed. Rain is needed though. Rates rise proposals are causing uncertainty. Meanwhile avocado growers are lamenting low returns and kumara growers have been disappointed by recent prices.

Around Pukekohe, the last few weeks have been notable for stable weather, sunshine and low rainfall. With the aid of irrigation, winter crops have been planted and established without major problems. At this stage growers say there should be no shortage of fresh vegetables during winter.

In Waikato, grass is belting away. It's been one of the best summers in recent years, our farmer contact says. Dairy cows are in good shape and May milking is looking good. Steady rainfall means summer pasture is transitioning well to rye grass for the winter. The cooler autumn weather has also reduced rates of facial eczema.

There's a good volume of gold kiwifruit coming off in Bay of Plenty and in beautiful condition. There are plenty of avos too, but with low returns things are not looking so rosy there for growers. The labour shortage seen in recent years appears to have abated with a steady supply of RSE workers.

King Country's grass growth is the envy of surrounding regions, with many farmers hanging onto lambs to fatten them up. California thistles are also having a great season, much to farmers' annoyance. Market conditions remain a challenge though, especially with low returns for wool and sheepmeat. Farmers are spending half what they would normally on fertiliser - as they "batten down the hatches".

It's a "green drought" in parts of Taranaki with enough rain to keep pasture green, but not growing. Herds are eating into their winter feed requirements and without good rain soon, many farmers will look to dry off their cows. Milk production is down on last year but early pregnancy scanning results for dairy cows are looking good, with about 12 to 13 percent empty, or not in calf…

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

Appleby Farms, Flock House centenary and Cyclone Chicks

This week on Country Life, the Jersey milk from Appleby Farm near Nelson is made into award-winning ice cream, the search is underway for descendants of British boys sent to New Zealand after the First World War to train in farming at Flock House and a hen rescued during Cyclone Gabrielle is helping bring back life to farms almost one year on.

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