Country Life

A year on the farm: Lambing is in full swing on the Bird's hill block, Canine Control, a feature from the Country Life archives by Carol Stiles, From water to wine: The story of Dancing Petrel and the Rural News Wrap.

A year on the farm: Lambing is in full swing on the Bird's hill block, Canine Control, a feature from the Country Life archives by Carol Stiles, From water to wine: The story of Dancing Petrel and the Rural News Wrap.

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Sows lounge in the sun as their piglets play, while others feed their litters in the privacy of their own cozy shelter at Hamish and Angela Cottle's free range pig farm near Timaru.

At Hamish and Angela Cottle's free-range pig farm, some sows lounge in the sun as their piglets play while others feed their litters in the privacy of their own cosy huts.

When Country Life comes to visit Highground, there are no barns, crates or concrete floors to be seen - just fresh air, sunlight, and lush, open fields.

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As Cosmo Kentish-Barnes checks out the huts, or farrow houses in action, Hamish explains the batch farrowing system, where he aims for 35-odd sows to birth (farrow) at the same time.

"If you think about a pig, they're an amazing animal, really."

Unlike cows or sheep, which have relatively low reproductive rates, Hamish explains that a piglet can give birth to over two litters a year and up to 12 piglets.

"If you're looking at 2.2 litters a year, she can give you 25 to 26 piglets a year. That's a pretty amazing, productive animal."

One striking difference at the Cottle's farm is their commitment to free-range practices.

Farrowing paddocks are designed to provide each sow with her own individual hut for giving birth, and once the piglets are ready, they have the freedom to roam and explore outdoors.

"They get into little gangs and they might run away across the other side of the paddock and they'll see you coming and run back to Mum," Hamish says.

He's always amazed by how the piglets have an innate sense of which hut is theirs.

In contrast to some indoor pig farming practices, where sows may be confined to pens, the sows here have ample space and natural surroundings.

The farrow houses at the Cottle's farm are based on a 1950s design known as the "rotor round farrowing house."

Internally, there's a designated piglet safety zone that ensures the well-being of the young ones.

To adapt the farm to their free-range philosophy, the Cottles have made modifications to these structures transportable.

Helping out with the care of the piglets is Ben Lester, who says pigs are quite different to other animals he's worked with on various farms.

"They're quite unique characters and individuals - sheep and cattle tend to follow."

While Ben's love for working with pigs is evident, he admits the job can become challenging when dealing with a pig mother who's feeling threatened…

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This week on Country Life it's farrowing time when Cosmo visits a free-range pig farm near Timaru, Leah meets a horticultural legend and proud centenarian, and a dad and daughter dog-trialling duo chat with Maggie Tweedie.

This week on Country Life it's farrowing time when Cosmo visits a free-range pig farm near Timaru, Leah meets a horticultural legend and proud centenarian, and a dad and daughter dog-trialling duo chat with Maggie Tweedie.

Listen to this weeks episode of Country Life.

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Duncan Smith and Sally Murphy take a look at the week's agricultural news.

Duncan Smith and Sally Murphy take a look at the week's agricultural news.

Listen to this weeks wrap of agricultural news

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Alan Wilcox of Pukekohe celebrated his 100th birthday. He walks down a lifetime and legacy of growing with Country Life.

Alan Wilcox, a stalwart in the world of vegetable farming, marked the remarkable milestone of celebrating his 100th birthday.

The Pukekohe vegetable grower dedicated his lifetime to the industry and contributed significantly to the horticultural industry within Pukekohe and New Zealand.

Walk down memory lane with Alan Wilcox on Country Life.

His journey began in 1939, a time when planting was done by hand and ploughing by horse. Over the years, he witnessed dramatic transformations in the field, from scientific advancements to the mechanisation of farming practices.

Reflecting on his century-long journey, Wilcox humbly expressed: "When one looks forward 100 years, it seems to be way in the future. But looking back, it doesn't seem like 100 years to me."

His contributions to the agricultural community are numerous. He is a life member of the Pukekohe Vegetable Growers Association, where he served on the board for 39 years.

In addition, he held the position of vice chairman at the New Zealand Potato Growers Federation and was a founding director of the New Zealand Horticultural Export Authority.

He also attended the first and last VegFed conference among many other accolades and benchmarks.

During World War II, Wilcox's vegetable farming earned him an exemption from territorial service, as his work was deemed essential to the war effort.

By 1945, Wilcox, alongside his brother, leased their first patch of land with a focus on potatoes and onions.

Despite the market collapsing in the first year, right when crops were ready, Wilcox's innovative thinking led them to sell their produce on the side of Highway One, a move that saved their business.

"We took 30 bags out onto the side of the road one afternoon, and by 6pm they were all sold at a profitable price," Wilcox recalled.

"So we set about doing that every day for the next two months and sold the whole lot on the side of the road."

The farming operation grew substantially over the years and while his brother moved into dairy farming in Bay of Plenty, Wilcox remained headstrong in the space of vegetables.

On the Bombay Hills, out of the reach of frosts, Wilcox purchased a dairy farm too small to be profitable. However, it suited his young family and crops of onions, potatoes, cabbage, cauliflower and pumpkins nicely.

It became their headquarters for several decades.

What Wilcox cherished most about his occupation was the continuous challenge and the ever-evolving farming methods. …

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Champion dog trialler Clark Chrystal fosters his daughters love for the sport.

Tutira farmer Clark Chrystal wasn't expecting to win the national and South Island sheep dog trial's zig zag hunt in May.

Much of his spare time was spent repairing the family farm post Cyclone Gabrielle and there wasn't much left to train his dogs.

After pursuing the craft for more than 20 years, it was about time he and his prize dog Jude took out their first national championship title.

In 1981, Clark Chrystal's father converted the family farm from sheep and beef to dairy. Clark and his wife, Sian, have been running the property in Tutira in Northern Hawke's Bay for more than two decades. Where they also brought up their four children, Jess, Lana, Suzy and Sam.

Chrystal has been running the local dog trial club as secretary for 25 years.

"You sort of have to die to lose it."

There are half a dozen active dog triallers in the Tutira and Putorino districts and the local club keeps the community connected.

"There's not a lot going on socially in the district anymore without kids at school ... so this brings everyone together."

Clark introduced his children to dog trialling, building the sport into the family's weekend and travelling across the country to compete. His daughter Lana Chrystal caught on quickly when her Dad gave her his dog Punch to trial as a teen.

For Lana Chrystal, being a shepherd was a no-brainer.

"My Mum does more than my Dad on the farm these days. Mum's always been hands-on, looking at that might have helped."

She now works on a large station called Kelly Land Co just outside of Taihape.

Lana says there's a few women joining competitive dog trialling and they're just as good as the lads. She enjoys competing in an open class,

"I hate anything to do with girls being different to guys."

Dog trialling is a passion both father and daughter share. Both Clark and Lana Chrystal ended up competing against one another at the South Island sheep dog trial championships.

Lana was wrapped both her huntaways, Belle and Carla, qualified. She says it's been a tough year.

"It made me so sad, coming home to the whole place in slips, the whole road was pretty much gone and it was pretty scary actually."

Finally watching her Dad bring home a win after Cyclone Gabrielle made all the hard work worth it.

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The fruit preserving business was founded in the late sixties by Anthony and Gillian Barker as a way of supplementing their farm income. Now it employs over 250 people and produces about 800 finished goods.

For over half a century, Barker's of Geraldine has been delighting the palates of Kiwis with its jams, syrups, sauces, and an array of other condiments and beverages.

This iconic family business, with roots firmly planted in the heart of New Zealand's South Island, has been a household name since the late 1960s.

Founded by Anthony Barker and his wife Gillian, Barker's began as a humble venture, aimed at supplementing their farm income.

Listen to the journey of innovation for this iconic New Zealand brand.

Little did they know that their foray into the world of culinary delights would evolve into a thriving, internationally recognised brand.

"We've got some of the early gear that we used in the winemaking process back in the 1970s," Michael Barker, son of the founders, recalled during a visit from Country Life.

"My father struck upon the idea of making wines. He knew he could make all the equipment himself, and he knew how to make wine because he'd been making wine since he was a boy. That's how Barker's wines was born."

Their inventive spirit is evident in the exhibits at the Geraldine Museum. A full-size replica of Anthony Barker stirring a copper laundry tub filled with elderberries, heated with his homemade diesel burner and a vacuum cleaner venturi blast system, serves as a testament to their ingenuity.

While the Barkers started as sheep farmers in Pleasant Valley, just 8km from Geraldine, their journey into winemaking marked the beginning of their culinary adventure.

"The real success was as a visitor attraction because everyone that came got offered numerous tastings of an ever-expanding variety of very extremely interesting wines, liqueurs, and aperitifs," Michael explained.

"They got given a guided tour around the very interesting engineering structures and vessels and contraptions. It was the biggest and most significant tourist attraction we had in its time, with 20,000 visitors."

The visitor attraction not only put the Barker name on the map but also gave them a platform to expand their product range, Michael says.

"It certainly got us started and gave us a launching pad for when we launched our black currant syrup and the jams and chutneys and all the products you see in the supermarkets today," he added.

Michael recalls helping out in the shop from the age of around 13. He then went to Lincoln University with plans of going overseas after, to pursue a winemaking degree…

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This week on Country Life; Since the late sixties, Barkers of Geraldine has been filling Kiwi pantries with jams, syrups and sauces, and since linking up with a French jam maker the rural business continues to grow.. And.. Veteran New Zealand actor Sir Sam Neill takes Country Life on a tour of his Central Otago vineyard.

This week on Country Life; Since the late sixties, Barkers of Geraldine has been filling Kiwi pantries with jams, syrups and sauces, and since linking up with a French jam maker the rural business continues to grow.. And.. Veteran New Zealand actor Sir Sam Neill takes Country Life on a tour of his Central Otago vineyard.

Plus we talk to a Ruawai kumara grower as the new season approaches.

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Despite a dry period in Pukekohe in the middle of the month, warmer temperatures and residual soil moisture has stimulated crop growth. Most farmers are through calving on the West Coast and are busy dehorning cows.

Listen to this months wrap of conditions around the motu

Northland saw its first real September day this week with four seasons in one day. However, the month has been kind to farmers with steady weather conditions - not up and down as it normally would be this time of year, which has been great for the tail end of calving. Ground conditions are drier than average and there's not a lot of grass but there's been a lot of sunshine hours.

Despite a dry period in Pukekohe in the middle of the month, warmer temperatures and residual soil moisture have stimulated crop growth. Many vegetables are in stronger supply at reduced financial returns to growers. Growers warn this situation may continue for a while.

Typical spring weather has been the story in Waikato as the sky doesn't know if it's winter or summer. The end of August had our contact stressed with no grass or silage up the sleeve. Cows moved to a 3-2 milking cycle and with a lot of hard work and a stroke of luck, grass conditions have gone from absolute crap to absolute hero. Last week had temperatures rising from 14 degrees to 21 some days, and many farmers are coming out of the struggle and even getting ahead of their milk production targets.

Nature seems to have played ball in Bay of Plenty this September. In saying that, there's been a lot of surface water on farms with up to 200 millimetres hitting the ground nearer Whakatāne in the past week or so. This time of year rain is welcome as it kickstarts a lot of growth - especially good when you're working up the ground to get summer crops in, which is exactly what our contact was doing when we called.

A nice warm month has been felt in King Country and grass is actually growing. Good frosts, nice dry days with decent sunshine have all been on the menu plus the odd day of rain to the point there was almost flooding a week ago. Those trying to dock lambs this week have been mucked around with inconsistent weather, although farmers around Te Kuiti have finished docking for the season.

It's been wet in Taranaki. And although there hasn't been high levels of rainfall there have been constant wet days, with some farmers begging for sunshine just to make the days less monotonous. Grass covers aren't looking very good for this time of year. Coastal farms will be near, if not started mating ...those closer to the mountain than the sea are still about three weeks away from the mating season yet. …

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Ruawai kumara grower Warwick Simpson hopes seed contingency schemes will bring hope to the paddocks.

Northland kumara growers are hoping they will rebound from a dismal season as planting for new-season crops gets underway.

Following Cyclone Gabrielle in February more than 70 percent of the about-to-be-harvested kumara crop was either destroyed or wasn't good enough quality to be stored for very long.

Ruawai kumara grower Warwick Simpson says the poor yield has a flow-on effect as 5 percent of each grower's crop is used for seed the following season.

How the effects of rain keep plaguing our kumara

However, the Vegetables New Zealand director says there is hope for growers thanks to a Kumara Seed Contingency scheme funded by the Ministry of Primary Industries (MPI) to ensure growers will have at least 77 percent of the required seed for this planting season.

"There are some growers that weren't able to harvest enough to cover all the seed need," Simpson says.

" provided just under $270,000 to provide funding for those growers that weren't able to harvest enough seed so that they can buy seed off other growers so they can get going in this coming season."

Simpson says he would typically use part of his crop to go into seed, however, thanks to weather events which led to rot in the kumara, he was only able to harvest 10 percent of his usual crop.

"You can see how the numbers are getting smaller and smaller."

Kaipara district, where Simpson is based, is the heart of kumara growing in New Zealand. There are about 40 growers in the area that grow most of the country's kumara.

Simpson said the implications of a poor season move through every part of the sector. To understand how it all happened, Simpson casts his mind back to November last year.

"During that planting season, it was very wet and really limited to how much we could plant. So that was putting us on bad foot to start with.

He says a lot of growers were down 80 percent at that point.

And then Cyclone Gabrielle happened.

"That was when we were just looking at starting to harvest. And, for example, the crops on my farm here were flooded for about five days. And you can imagine that causes a lot of rot and crop loss," Simpson said.

While some growers came off better than those who lost their whole crop, Simpson says all growers were affected.

"It's certainly led to some good conversations with the bank to get things through for the season.

"We use the income from the previous season to pay for the next season, and a lot of us lost that income so having to go to the bank to get money to put this next season's crop in."…

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