RNZ's rural news reporter, Maja Burry, takes a look at the week's agricultural news.

Cows are Laura Murdoch's passion. She shares her everyday interactions with them on Facebook and Tiktok and some of her Cow Whisperer videos have racked up quite a few views.

With over 800 acres of protected land on the farm, Ben Stubbs shares the hidden treasures deep in caves that motivate him to never make the same mistake.

Karl Russell has been gathering food from local rivers all his life and has witnessed the decline in water quality. Now he educates farm leaders on the importance of protecting the waterways for future generations.

The effects of cyclones are still being felt, while the added rain in summer has grass growing berserk across the North Island. However, the south could do with a bit more and more supplementary feed is being dished out to stock.

On Country life this week, a Southland farmer who has a knack of bonding with cows, the hidden treasures in caves on a Waitomo farm, a kaumātua who educates farm leaders on the importance of protecting the waterways for future generations and a wrap of farming conditions from around the country.

Orchardist Lesley Wilson and her family plan the next steps for their apple growing operation after a traumatic escape from flood waters.

The Greer family kitchen is headquarters to a group which is no stranger to dealing with hard times in rural communities. The Collective Hug, sparked by Hawkes Bay's 2020 drought, is on fire again - cooking and stockpiling meals for those affected by the cyclone. They'll need to be sustained during the tiring months ahead.

The Rural Support Trust is planning support hubs in remote places for those farmers and growers impacted by Cyclone Gabrielle.

Light planes and helicopters are among the workhorses helping in the cyclone recovery effort. Hundreds of kilometres of farm fences need fixing and donated feed is leaving as fast as it's being delivered.